A New Life
by pop off valve
Summary: Carly's finally gotten away from Sonny and starts over with a new job and a new man with a surprising connection to her past.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own GH or it's characters, nor am I making any money off this (if I was, I wouldn't be posting here).  
  
Author's note: Brownie points to the person who can tell me who Carly's mystery man is...  
  


Carly caressed her sleeping son's head and looked back at the legal papers in her hand. She was no longer Carly Corinthos. She was back to being just plain old Caroline Benson. 

She would've killed to see Sonny's face when he realized she'd hired Alexis, who was more than happy to help her, to represent her in the divorce. The divorce was now final, complete with a very nice settlement, in one lump sum payment. Just in time to start over again.

It had taken time. Nearly two years she and Michael had been on the run, a new identity every couple of months, leaving everything behind when Sonny's men found them. But she'd gotten away from him. She was starting a new life with her own name, just her and Michael together in Washington D.C. No need to run, she had a job where she could be safe and protected. Her supervisors had assured her of that and she believed them. 

"Welcome to your new life, Caroline."

~*~

"Mind if I sit down?"

Carly looked up at the man talking to her. He was older, in his 40s maybe, but still good looking. Light brown hair, green eyes, boyish grin, and a tight body, he was very good looking. "Sure," she answered, moving down the bench to make him some room.

"Thank you."

Carly felt her heart flutter at his warm smile. He was charming, too, damn it. "No problem."

He was watching the kids playing on the playground, slightly wistful look in his eyes. "One of them yours?"

"Um, yeah. The redhead," she pointed Michael out, "on the swings."

"Cute kid," he complemented her, still smiling.

"Yeah, he is. Do you have any kids?"

"Two daughters. One just started college and the other is still in high school." He held out his hand to hers. "I'm Andrew, by the way."

She couldn't tear her eyes away from his. "Caroline."

"You married, Caroline?" he asked casually, watching the kids playing.

"Divorced, as of yesterday."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Carly shrugged indifferently. "Don't be. The only thing I'm sorry about is that it took so long."

"Messy?"

"Uh, yeah, a little, I guess. Aren't they all?"

"No, mine were fairly painless as divorces go," Andrew answered thoughtfully.

"How many times have you been divorced?"

"Twice, same woman," he said, raising his eyebrows disbelievingly. "You?"

"Three times, same man. One more to a different man."

"You got me beat," he said amusedly, shaking his head. "How'd you end up in Washington?"

"New job."

"What kind of job?"

"That's classified. I don't think I'm allowed to tell you."

"That's half of Washington, sweetheart. What department are you with?"

Carly laughed. "World Security Bureau. But I don't start until next week."

"No kidding. I work for the WSB, too."

"Really?"

"Over fifteen years now." He looked at her a moment before speaking again. "You want to have dinner with me tonight, Caroline?"

"Ah, so now we get to the real reason you came over here," she said, smirking.

He grabbed at his chest, mocking offense. "Hey, I saw a pretty girl sitting by herself, thought I'd come over, make some conversation. She turns out to be nice, thought I'd ask her out. Celebrate her new divorce. You can't blame a guy for trying."

"Sure, I can."

"Should I be taking this as a no?"

"I don't have a babysitter, so plans will have to be for three."

"Chuck E. Cheese it is then."

That was her usual cop-out line. Carly looked at him, seeing nothing but sincerity in his eyes. A lot of men had hit on her since she left Sonny. She'd gone out with a few of them. Not a single one had wanted to include Michael. She returned his warm smile. "You got a date."  



	2. Chapter 2

DGN, MissDevon & Misha- thanks for reviewing! Misha- Carly (and Andrew) won't find out until it's too late... ;)  
  


  
Andrew hadn't taken Carly and Michael to Chuck E. Cheese. He'd taken them to a baseball game instead. Not her thing, but Michael loved baseball and they'd had a great time. Andrew had even bought her son a hat.

She wasn't too particularly happy he'd taken them to bar to eat after the game, but the place wasn't too bad. It was a sports bar, with lots of memorabilia on the walls and a bunch of old video games. A real guys sort of place. She smiled as she watched Andrew teach Michael how to play Space Invaders. By the look of it, Michael was winning. Andrew had gotten so excited when he saw they had the old game, he'd rushed over to play. It was so cute. Part was her telling her to be careful, that he's too good to be true, but her heart already wanted this to work out. He was a good man with a good job, albeit a dangerous one, and he adored her kid. One date really wasn't enough to decide anything, but her mother had always told her to go with her heart. Although right now she was beginning to wonder who was on the date, her or Michael.

Her cell phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. "Hello?"

"Hey sweetie!" Bobbie's chipper voice declared.

Carly smiled, happy to hear her mother's voice. "Hi, Mama. How are you?"

"I'm okay. How's Washington?"

"Wonderful!"

"Wonderful? What's his name?"

"Why do you automatically assume there's a guy?"

"I know you. Who is he?"

"His name's Andrew. He works for the WSB too."

"Have you gone out with him yet?"

Carly glanced back at her date and her son. "Actually, I'm out with him now."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'll let you get back to him!"

"It's okay. I'm feeling a bit left out right now. He left me to go play Space Invaders with Michael," 

"Michael's with you?" Bobbie asked surprised.

"Yeah, Andrew took us to a baseball game this afternoon."

"So, tell me about this guy."

"Well, he's twice divorced. Same woman, I might add. Almost sounds like Sonny and I were. Two daughters. He's intelligent, charming, funny, and he adores Michael. Plus, he's really good looking."

"Almost sounds like my ex-brother-in-law."

"Tony's brother? What was his name, Frisco?"

"Yeah. He's a WSB agent too, but I think he's in the Middle East somewhere."

Carly chuckled. "Tony would probably croak if he heard I was working for the WSB."

"Looking forward to starting your new job?"

"Yes. It sounds like it's going to be interesting."

Their waitress returned to their table with the food. Carly moved her purse quickly out of the way. "Mama, I have to go. The food's here."

"Alright. Be sure to call me later and tell me how the rest of your date goes."

Carly got up and headed towards Andrew and Michael while she spoke. "Okay. I'll talk to you later. Michael?" she handed the phone to her son. "You wanna say bye to Grandma?"

Michael took the phone and started chatting away with his grandmother. Carly looked at Andrew. "Food's here."

He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and pouted. "I'm losing anyway."

She touched his cheek. "Poor thing."

He grinned slyly. "I think I need some comforting."

She raised her eyebrows and glanced at her son that had just gotten off the phone. "Michael, I think Andrew could use a hug."

He laughed, shaking his head. "No, that's okay. I think I'll live, Caroline. You ready to eat, sport?"

"Yeah," Michael cheered, rushing back to the table. Andrew and Carly smiled at each other and followed him.

~*~

Carly thought the date was wonderful. Andrew was wonderful. He had genuinely enjoyed spending time with Michael. Michael hadn't just been a tagalong, Andrew had included him in everything, made her son feel like he was part of this date. And Andrew had done it willingly. She hadn't had to do anything.

Carly had spent the day looking for something not to like and had come up empty. This man was too good to be true. There had to be something wrong with him. She just didn't get this lucky.

"I had fun, Andrew! Thanks for the hat!" Michael said, rushing upstairs to get ready for bed.

"No problem, I had fun, too, sport," Andrew replied, smiling at the kid.

Carly closed the door behind them and gestured him to the sofa, the only piece of furniture in the living room. 

"So, it's just you and me now," he said, taking a seat and smiling affectionately.

"Yep, just us," she said returning his smile. "Thank you for including Michael. He really did have a lot of fun."

Andrew's smile began to disappear. "No problem. He's a great kid. I had fun with him, too."

Carly glanced down, feeling slightly nervous. "I had a good time, too."

Andrew's lopsided grin returned. "Good. I was beginning to wonder about that."

"I'm glad you asked me out."

"I'm glad you said yes." Andrew brushed a stray hair out of her face, gazing into her brown eyes. "Can I kiss you, Caroline?"

"Yes," she breathed just before she felt his lips touch hers.

It wasn't a long kiss, nor was it terribly passionate. It was… sweet, tender, wonderful. Just soft lips pressed against soft lips in a gesture of affection. And it had sent a spike of electricity down her spine.

She felt a flush in her cheeks as he pulled away, smiling. Kissing Andrew was nothing like kissing Sonny. Sonny was all about passion, but every time she kissed Sonny, she felt possessed, controlled. He never left her with any doubt as to how much he wanted her, but outside the bedroom she'd always had doubts. Alexis. Brenda. Skye. Felicia. She'd always worried that he'd leave her for someone else. Andrew didn't make her feel like that. He wanted her too, she could see that much in his smoldering green eyes, but there was more than just passion with him. He cared. It was too soon to say love, but definitely something that could turn into love.

"That was nice."

"Yes, it was."

"Has anyone ever told you you're cute when you blush?" Carly laughed, covering her face with her hands and blushing even more. Andrew laughed along with her. "You are! You're very cute. No one's ever told you that?"

"I've been called many things, but no one's called me cute since grade school."

"That's too bad 'cause you're very cute."

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

Andrew turned serious and looked down. "Just my ex-wife. But she always hated being called cute."

Carly ran and hand through his hair, drawing his attention back to her. "Her loss. I like being called cute."

"Then you're going to be called cute every chance I get." Andrew kissed her again, a little more passionate but just as tender as before, and Carly melted into his strong arms.  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: I don't usually do original characters, but this story sorta required it, so the first of several new characters shows up in this chapter. I'm not an S&C fan, so I sorta guessed on the details. I think I got them right, but if I'm wrong, I'm sure I'll be corrected. ;)

  
Goblz- you found my other fic! What can I say, I like the guy! LOL! Thanks! Donna- Wow! Thanks! Sonny will show up later on, but no Alexis (not in a S&C/Sexis capacity anyway).  
  


  
Carly and Michael were walking through their new neighborhood. It was beautiful, well maintained. A nice place to live by the looks of it.

"Mom, look at that!"

Carly looked to where Michael was pointing. In the distance, she could see a house larger than the Quartermaines'. "Whoa, that is big."

"You think the WSB owns that too, Mom?"

"Most of this area belongs to the WSB," an accented female voice beside them answered. Carly turned to the red haired woman. "You must be new here. I'm Sarah," she said, holding out her hand.

"I'm Caroline and this is Michael," Carly answered, shaking the woman's hand. "Do you work for the WSB, too?"

"Of course. I'm an analyst in counter-terrorism. Where are you assigned?"

"Oh, I'm just a secretary," she said, laughing nervously. "I don't know where I'm going to be yet. I don't start until Monday."

Sarah nodded her head understandingly. "I suppose you haven't heard the story about this place, then."

"No, I haven't."

"Come on, I'll buy you a latte," Sarah said, smiling.

~*~

The coffee shop wasn't far from where they'd met Sarah. The woman seemed nice. Carly glanced around at the other people. Most were working, she and Michael were the only ones not in business suits.

"Is it just me or does everyone here seem to scream 'government issue'?" Carly asked, gesturing around.

Sarah chuckled. "Most of them are. This whole community is owned by either the WSB, the CIA or the NSA. It's like a safe zone. Everyone here either works in intelligence, or their spouse does."

"Why?"

"Most of it is WSB. They like to guarantee their agents' safety while at headquarters. There's few secured housing areas in town, so they built their own. All in one community for agents working in the more dangerous units and their families. Housing, shops, a school, daycare, the works. Those big houses are either visiting dignitaries or the upper echelon. There are some smaller houses back there, as well. It's a secured zone. It's tougher to get back there than it is to get into the White House." She stirred her coffee for a moment. "So how did a secretary get a place here?"

"They offered me one when they told me I had to use my real name." Carly looked away, ashamed. "My ex-husband is a mobster," she added softly.

A look of understanding crossed the redhead's face. "I see. You were going to be in an exposed position. Nice to see the Bureau doing something nice for a change."

Carly looked at her in confusion, beginning to wonder what she had gotten herself into. "What do you mean?"

Sarah leaned closer to Carly, lowering her voice. "Usually the guys at the Bureau are complete bastards. I'd think they would've just left you exposed."

Oh, great, Carly thought. "That's nice to know."

"How long have you and Michael been here?" Sarah asked curiously. 

"A few days."

"Have you seen much of the city yet?"

"Not really," Carly replied, shrugging. "We've gone to the park a couple times. We went to a baseball game yesterday."

"You should go sightseeing! There is so much to see here and believe me, once you get on the job, you won't have time."

Carly smiled, not quite believing her luck. Another new friend. A good person on the right side of the law. "We might do that. Thanks."

Sarah returned the smile. "Well, I have to get back to work. It was very nice meeting you, Caroline."

Carly took Sarah's extended hand. "It was nice to meet you, too."

"Here's my number, if you ever need anything," Sarah said, handing Carly a business card. "I'll see you around." She waved as she walked out of the shop.

Carly turned to her son, who had been quiet through most of the conversation. "Well, well, well, Michael. It looks like I have another new friend."

"She's nice," he told his mother.

"Yes, she is," Carly agreed, smiling. 

~*~

Carly smiled as she opened the door to let Andrew in. He held out a small bouquet of white roses. 

"Thank you," she said, taking the flowers. "They're beautiful."

"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman," he whispered as he kissed her softly on the cheek.

She lightly slapped his arm. "You're too good to me."

"I disagree."

Carly's smile faded. "You don't know me very well." She walked into the kitchen to put the roses in water.

Andrew stared at her from the doorway momentarily. "I know you well enough, I think."

She turned sharply. "We just met!"

He shrugged. "I know what I need to. You're a wonderful woman with a wonderful son. What else do I need to know?"

"You don't know the things I've done in the past," she told him, sighing.

"I'm no saint either," he replied smugly. "You've got all evening to tell me about these past indiscretions."

"Indiscretions? You make me sound like some soap opera diva."

Andrew grinned. "You know what they say, art imitates life."

She rolled her eyes, amused. "Cute."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Carly felt herself blushing all over again. "Andrew!"

"So, where is Michael?" he asked, slipping his arms around her from behind.

"He went to get a pizza with the babysitter. They should be home soon if you want to wait for them."

"No, we'll be late for our reservations."

"Okay, let me get my coat."

She grabbed her leather jacket and followed him out of her townhouse. At the curb, she saw a black luxury car with a man leaning against it. She was stunned. She hadn't expected him to go to such expense. "A limo? You didn't have to, Andrew."

"A perk of my position. I always have access to a car and driver. I thought it would be nice."

She smiled as she stepped into the car. "It is nice. It's been awhile since I've been in a limo."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, my ex-husband had a driver."

"Married a rich man, huh?"

"My first husband's family was rich, but I meant…" She trailed off, not sure if she really wanted to tell him about Sonny. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"Yes, I'd like to hear it, but if you're not ready to talk about it…"

"He was a mobster," she admitted quietly.

Andrew looked unfazed by her revelation. In fact, he almost looked amused. "My ex-wife is a princess."

She sighed resentfully. He was mocking her. "No, I'm serious. He is really is a mobster."

"She really is a princess." He brushed a few stray locks of hair from her face, still smiling broadly. "That's how I met her. She was trying to get back this ring that was part of an Aztec treasure."

Carly laughed. Mobster, princess, spies… Soap opera was right! How weird was this relationship going to get? "Did she get it back?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "I gave it back to her."

"You had it?"

He didn't answer immediately, apparently lost in thought. "I bought it at an art fair. She found out where it was and broke into my apartment to steal it from me. It turned out to be part of a key to this hidden Aztec treasure. She and a couple other friends dragged me through Texas and Mexico looking for the treasure." He caught her disbelieving glance. "Okay, maybe I wasn't dragged, but treasure hunting wasn't my idea! It was hers, I swear!"

Carly grinned, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. "So the ring wasn't hers to begin with?"

"It was her grandmother's. Her cousin stole it and sold it. I can show it to you some time. It's in a museum in Mexico City, along with the rest of the treasure. I think there are photos on the museum's website."

"Wow. So I can add treasure hunter to the list of things I know about you," Carly said, smiling. "Is that how you fell in love with her?"

"Couldn't help myself. She was such a free spirit, so feisty. Still was the last time I talked to her," Andrew told her wistfully.

"How long were you together?"

"Let's see… We met in '84, went after the Aztec treasure in '85, married in '86, I left for the WSB in '87, was presumed dead in '88, came home and she divorced me in '89, we remarried in '90, I left again in '91, and I was home for a few days in '94 and then again for a few weeks in '95. That's our relationship in a nutshell."

"Geez, you really do sound like me and…" She again hesitated saying his name. "My ex."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I told everyone that a mutual friend was Michael's father, we were living together, for a while with his girlfriend, she told the real father the truth, I married him to keep custody, had a one night stand out of anger with my ex, got pregnant, had a miscarriage, divorced Michael's father, married him so I wouldn't have to testify against him, divorced because we couldn't stand each other, married him again a few months later because I fell in love with him, wore a wire trying to help him, he divorced me again, we got back together again, and then I left."

"What did it in?" he asked, putting an arm around her.

"I couldn't take the life anymore. It wasn't what I wanted for Michael. The friend was shot in this club I owned. It was retaliation by the widow of another boss. The cops were investigating him and things got pretty heated." She shuddered, remembering how unstable Sonny had become while Mac and Taggart had been closing in on the organization. "He didn't take it well. He was always angry. He even hit me once."

A look of anger and absolute hatred crossed Andrew's face. "I hope that's when you left the bastard. There's no excuse for that."

She put a hand on his leg, trying to pacify him. Although she had been furious at the time, Carly had long since forgiven Sonny for it. "He was upset. He didn't mean to."

"Caroline, I was a cop. I've heard every line in the book. They never mean it, but it always happens again," he told her sharply.

"He wasn't like that, Andrew. The investigation was getting to him. Towards the end, I never knew what would set him off. I was scared, but before that, I was never scared of him." She snuggled closer to him. "And yes, that was when I left. It was the last straw."

"Good," he whispered in her ear and brushed his lips across her cheek. "He come after you?"

"Of course. Michael and I were on the run for two years." Carly looked into his intense green eyes. "Now I'm here, I have a good job starting on Monday and I'm not worried about him finding us this time," she told him, smiling.

He kissed her softly. "You have nothing to worry about. He won't get near you again, not if I have anything to do with it."

She touched his face, smiling warmly. "I appreciate that, Andrew."

"Good, because I like you too much to lose you now."

Carly blushed again. "Would you stop embarrassing me like that?"

"I like embarrassing you like that," he said, brushing his lips against hers once more.

~*~

"Night, Andrew," Carly said, closing the door.

Sarah sat up on the couch, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "How was your date?"

Carly was still smiling happily. "It was marvelous."

"So, what happened?" Sarah asked excitedly.

Carly sat on the opposite end of the sofa from Sarah. "We went to dinner and then we went walking down by the Washington Memorial. It was very nice."

"Did he kiss you?"

"Several times," she said with a sigh. "Andrew is such a wonderful kisser."

"What does this guy do again?"

Carly knotted her brow in confusion. "I don't know exactly. He's in charge of something at the WSB."

"What's his last name?"

"Jones."

"Deputy Chief Andrew Jones? You just had a date with my new boss?" Sarah asked incredulously.

Carly laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. He's a great guy."

"I wouldn't know," Sarah said, shrugging. "I've never actually met him, but I've heard he can be difficult to work under. Very demanding, but he was one of the best as a field agent."

"He's cute, though," Carly said, leaning closer and grinning conspiratorially.

"Oh yes," Sarah agreed, matching her new friend's grin. "He has a cute ass, too."

  



	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: Two more characters on the canvas, plus more Carly/"Andrew". ;P  


Carly squirmed in the chair, straightening her suit jacket for the hundredth time. She looked around the room. Through the glass walls behind her, she could see agents just arriving to work. She'd been told to come an hour earlier to be cleared by security. She didn't really understand why, she'd already been cleared when she had accepted the position. And she'd now had nearly thirty minutes to think about it. She turned back to the empty desk in front of her. Maybe she should call Andrew to speed this up. 

"Ms. Benson?"

Carly turned to see her new boss in the doorway. "Good morning, Mrs. Milner," she said, standing and extending her hand to the older woman.

The stern, petite woman, in her 60s Carly guessed, had no reaction. "Come with me, Ms. Benson. We need to get you settled before Deputy Director Braden gets in."

"Uh, okay," Carly replied, 

Mrs. Milner handed her a file. "Look these over," she said strictly, walking back out the door quickly.

Carly sat stunned, not quite sure what to do. Realizing she was supposed to follow, she rushed to catch up with her boss. "What about my IDs?" she asked, trying to keep up with the much older woman.

The woman stopped at the elevator. "Your identifications and security clearances will be delivered to you when they are ready. Deputy Director Braden likes his secretary to be ready when he arrives," she told Carly as they entered the elevator. Mrs. Milner pressed the button for the 10th floor.

There was something severely off-putting about this woman, Carly surmised. Not one ounce of warmth in the old woman's demeanor. "No problem."

"You need to read those papers, Ms. Benson." The elevators doors opened and the two women exited. "The first document is a confidentiality agreement. Same as the clearance you already signed, but this is regarding personal lives of the people you'll be working for," she told Carly as they walked down the hallway. "You'll be privy to personal details. Those details are expected to remain private."

"Okay," Carly answered, struggling to keep up the older woman's brisk pace and take in everything she was being told.

"I need the forms filled out and returned to me by afternoon. The other document is the rules, regulations, and expectations of our secretaries. I expect you to commit them to memory."

"Okay."

Mrs. Milner stopped at a desk, just outside of an office. "This is your desk. Your computer logons and passwords are in the papers I gave you, so are all the telephone numbers you will need."

"Okay."

"The phone is self-explanatory. Supplies are in the file cabinet," she pointed to a row of file cabinets against the wall. "Bottom drawer. He'll give you his current schedule, but you'll be expected to keep it up to date."

"Okay."

"I'll leave you to get settled. The deputy director should be in shortly. Familiarize yourself with where everything is so you can be prepared to get to work as soon as he gets in." She turned to leave, but looked back at Carly momentarily. "Welcome to the World Security Bureau, Ms. Benson."

"Thank you, Mrs. Milner."

Carly sat down, sighing heavily. She looked around her desk. She didn't think a phone could have so many buttons and most of them weren't labeled. "Self-explanatory my ass," she grumbled. She spotted another young woman sitting at a desk sort of cattycorner a few feet down the hall from hers. The blonde smiled and waved at her. Carly waved back and started looking through all the papers Mrs. Milner had given her.

"Hey!"

Carly looked up to see who the heavy Texas accent belonged to. The blonde was standing over her, smiling broadly. "Hi."

"I'm Faith. I work for Deputy Director Reyes, just down the way there."

"I'm Caroline. It's nice to meet you, Faith."

"I know Mrs. Milner isn't very, well, nice, but she really is a pussycat," Faith told her, almost reading Carly's thoughts. "Just show up on time and do your job, you'll have no problems with her. Is this your first day or did you transfer from another office?"

"First day," Carly answered guardedly.

"Where are you from?"

She wanted to say New York, but thought better of it. "Florida."

"Oh, really? What part of Florida? I was down in the Miami office for a while. I loved it down there."

"Uh, Tampa Bay," Carly answered, trying to figure out the phone. 

"I know how confusing that silly thing is. It took me a week just to figure out how to dial out. I'll be right back!" Faith ran back to her desk and shuffled through the drawers. She pulled out a piece of paper and disappeared a moment, before rushing back, paper in hand. "Here you go! I made some notes on how to work the phones when I first got here, since they don't bother telling us secretaries. I copied them for you."

Carly smiled. "Thanks!"

"Oh, it's no problem, honey! I better get back to work. If you have any questions or need any help, you just come right on over." She leaned in, close to Carly. "And watch Braden's hands. He tends to be a little friendly, if you catch my drift."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Remember, if you need anything at all, I'm just right over here," Faith said, backing towards her desk.

Carly chuckled and waved at the perky blonde. "Thanks, Faith." She went back to the paperwork.

~*~

By noon, Carly had figured out the phone, thanks in large part to Faith's notes, and most of the computer system, the parts she would need anyway. Braden seemed nice enough, but she'd barely met him. He'd been in meetings out of the office all morning. But those few minutes were enough for her to realize what Faith had warned her about. Although he hadn't touched her inappropriately, his leers were proof enough for Carly. This was not going to work out. 

She glanced at her watch. She was supposed to meet Sarah for lunch and she still had to drop her paperwork off at Mrs. Milner's office. Reaching the older woman's office, Carly was relieved to find the woman had gone to lunch as well. She just left the papers on her desk. Now on to the cafeteria.

~*~

The building was huge, Carly had discovered. From the outside, it didn't look that big. But once you got down into the sub-basements and passageways to the surrounding buildings, it was very easy to get lost.

She glanced down at Faith's directions. Not paying attention to where she was walking, she was caught off guard when she ran into something hard. Or someone, to be specific. Andrew, she noticed with pleasure. 

"Funny running into you here," he said, grinning.

"I was wondering if I was going to see you around, babe." Carly matched Andrew's grin. "You want to join me for lunch?"

"I'm sorry, I can't." He rolled his eyes. "Too many meetings to go to today," he said, clearly irritated.

"Sounds like my boss."

"Who'd they assign you to?"

"Deputy Director Braden."

Andrew just shook his head knowingly. "I give you two days before you deck Mr. Sticky Hands."

Apparently her new boss had a reputation. "You're the second person this morning to warn me about him."

"Lemme guess, first one was Faith."

"You know her?" Carly asked, her suspicious side coming out.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "I report to Reyes. I see a lot of Faith. She knocked him one in the middle of a staff meeting once."

"You're kidding me!" She stifled a giggle as he shook his head. She glanced back down at her watch, realizing she was late and he probably was, too. "Well, I have to go. I'm meeting a friend for lunch."

"A friend, huh?" he asked warily.

"Yeah, a friend."

"Okay then," he said, flustered. "You enjoy your lunch and I'll see you this afternoon."

Carly leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You're cute when you're jealous," she told him, beaming.

He feigned offense. "I'm not jealous!"

"Uh-huh," she replied, unconvinced. "Goodbye, Andrew." She walked away without waiting for an answer.

"Bye," he said, watching her amusedly. She glanced back and smiled. He didn't continue on to his meeting until she was out of sight.

  



	5. Chapter 5

Author's notes: Goblz- thanks as always! And no, you didn't miss anything, lol. She hasn't put anything together yet. Carly doesn't know that Frisco's first name is Andrew and Bobbie told her he's in the Middle East... ;) Brandy, CharmedOne4- thank you so much!!!

  


Standing at her desk, Carly decided Andrew was right. Two days and she was ready to punch Braden's lights out. She'd found out why he was called Mr. Sticky Hands. Two days and he'd done nothing but cop a feel at every opportunity, despite her objections. If touched her ass one more time, she'd take Andrew's gun and relieve the bastard of the appendage he was thinking with.

"Miss Benson," Braden called from his office. "Did you get the files I asked for?"

Carly turned around, a fake smile pasted on her face. "Yes, I did."

He was leering at her again from the doorway. "Can you bring them in here?"

She sighed and picked up the stack of files she'd spent the morning collecting. She walked into the office and placed the stack in the middle of the desk. Braden closed the door behind her. Not a good sign.

"There's the files," Carly told him dismissively, trying to get by her boss and out the door. The last thing she needed was to lose this job in the first week.

"You don't have to leave so soon, Miss Benson."

"I have a lot of work to do," she insisted.

"It can wait a little while..." he trailed off, squeezing her behind.

That was it, this guy was history. "Hands off buster!" she yelled. "I have had enough of you pawing me!" Without a thought, she pulled her fist back and slammed it into his nose.

Carly stormed out of the office, grabbed her purse and didn't look back.

~*~

"You hit him?" Sarah asked incredulously. Carly just nodded. "You really hit him?"

They were sitting Sarah's cubical, drinking coffee. Carly had gone to see her friend after Mrs. Milner had dismissed her for the day. For investigation, the older woman had said. Whatever she meant, it made Carly nervous.

"All he did was paw me at every opportunity!" Carly defended herself.

"That's all he does with anyone in a skirt. If he didn't know so much, I'm sure he would've been fired years ago." Sarah giggled. "You'll be the envy of every female agent now. You have no idea how many women have wanted to slug Braden and didn't have the guts to do it."

"That's nice. Now I just have to wait to find out if I still have a job."

"You have a job. No secretary's been fired because of him yet. They'll just reassign you," Sarah assured her.

"I hope so. I really need this. Michael needs this. We can't just keep running from Sonny."

"It'll be okay, I swear. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, Andrew would die before he let Sonny get near you."

"What do you mean?" Carly asked in confusion.

Sarah looked at her as if she was most clueless person in the world. "That man's fallen hard for you!"

"How do you know? You said you hadn't even met him!"

"I had a meeting with him yesterday, so I've met him now," the British agent answered, sticking her tongue out. "But the word is out! Andrew's a happy guy."

"So, he's happy," Carly said, shrugging. "What does that prove?"

"He wasn't before he met you."

"It's only been a couple of weeks!"

"Sometimes that's all it takes," Sarah replied with a shrug, grinning. "The people saying he's happier know him better than I do, so I'd say that's a pretty good sign. You've got him hooked."

Carly sighed. "Well, we'll see," she said dismissively. "Michael should be out of school soon, so I'm going to go pick him up. I'll see ya later."

Sarah waved as her friend left, shaking her head and giggling to herself.

~*~

Carly heard the distinct digital sounds of a video game coming from the living room as she was making dinner. "Michael, is your homework done?" she shouted to her son.

"Yes!" the boy yelled as he played his game.

"Then come set the table."

"Okay!" The game stopped and Michael came running into the kitchen. "What are we having?" he asked, grabbing the plates Carly had set out for him.

"Lasagna." 

The doorbell rang, surprising Carly. She wasn't expecting anybody, but maybe her son had asked a friend over. "I'll get it!" Michael yelled, running to the door before his mother could say anything. 

Carly stopped what she was doing and listened to the door opening, a sense of fear running over her. It was silly, she knew. Sonny wouldn't have found her this quickly. He wouldn't be looking for Caroline Benson yet. But she couldn't help being afraid.

"Hey, sport!" a male voice said as soon as the door opened.

"Andrew!" Michael cheered.

Carly walked out of the kitchen and smiled. "Hey you!" she said, giving him a hug. 

His lips brushed her cheek. "Heard a rumor about you."

"A good one, I hope," she said with an anxious grin.

"I would say so," he replied, grinning proudly. "Wish I could've seen Braden's face when you decked him."

Carly rolled her eyes. "I can't believe he actually thought I'd go for that."

"Really! It's not like any of his secretaries have given in before."

"So, how did your trip go?" she asked, changing the subject. "I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow."

He shrugged. "It went alright. I have to go back in a couple months, though."

"I thought you were going to stay tonight to see your daughters."

Andrew's smile faded as he solemnly looked down. "They didn't want to see me," he said quietly.

Michael quickly wrapped his arms around Andrew's waist. "I want to see you!"

Carly joined in on the hug. "I do, too," she said quietly.

"I'm glad somebody does," Andrew answered, kissing Carly's cheek again and ruffling Michael's hair. "So what smells like it's starting to burn?"

"Oh no!" Carly cried, pulling herself away from the two men in her life and ran into the kitchen. She pulled the skillet off the burner and started stirring the saucy mix. 

"So what's for dinner?" Andrew asked, coming up behind her, the sounds of Michael's video game starting again from the other room.

"Lasagna. You want to join us?"

"Okay." He looked at what she was cooking. "That does not look like lasagna."

Carly rolled her eyes. "It's Hamburger Helper. I'm not exactly a good cook."

"Aha," Andrew said, backing away and leaning against a counter. "I'll have to have you two over. I can make the real thing, not that box stuff."

"Well, good for you. Not all of us are that talented."

"Hey, I learned. I've been on my own for too long not to know how to cook a few things. Lasagna isn't that difficult."

"My talents do not lay in the kitchen, okay?"

"Well, what kind of woman can't cook?" Andrew sighed melodramatically. "Guess I'll have to look somewhere else for a wife..."

"Why you son of a..." she trailed off as she angrily smacked him on the arm.

"Hey, I was just teasing!" Andrew said, putting his arms up in self-defense. "Cooking is not high on my list of priorities, alright?"

"Could your ex-wife cook?"

"She's learned over the years, but when we were together, she was terrible," he answered. "Who did the cooking in your marriage? Or was it all take out?"

"I married a gourmet cook."

"A gourmet cook, huh? Interesting."

"He was a very good cook and he loved it. He'd get upset if I tried to do anything in the kitchen." Carly tenderly touched Andrew's cheek. "So the girls didn't want to see you?"

"No." He shook his head and sighed sadly. "They said they had plans. Maybe next time, yadda, yadda, yadda."

"What do you think?"

"They don't want to see me, Caroline. I told them I was going to be in town and I wanted to see them. They could've told me then if they already had plans. They still can't just tell me no."

Carly kissed him lightly. "Maybe you should tell them that. Tell them how you feel."

"I don't want to force them into anything."

"Telling them how you feel isn't forcing anything. You have the right to feel the way you do. The least they can do is be honest with you. You're their father."

"I haven't been their father in a very long time. That title goes to their stepfather. He's the one that's been there for them. I've spent all these years concentrating on my work, not my family."

"That doesn't mean they can't be honest with you."

Andrew smiled sadly and kissed her again. "I'll think about it. Is that good enough for right now?"

Carly slipped her arms around his neck. "It's fine."

"Are you two going to kiss again?" Michael complained, leaning against the doorframe.

"What's it to you, Mr.Man?" Carly asked, looking scolding at her son, then at a giggling Andrew.

"That is so gross, Mom!" 

She rolled her eyes. "Go sit down, Michael. It's time to eat."

"Hey, Andrew?" Michael said seriously, getting the man's attention. "Your daughters are pretty dumb if they don't want you. I think you're pretty cool."

"Thanks, Michael," Andrew said as the boy left the room, followed by a smiling Carly.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's notes: Just a short chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

"Miss Benson, can you come in here?"

Carly rolled her eyes. Deputy Chief Davids had been running her ragged for three days. Get me this, go do that, answer the phone for god's sake... He couldn't do anything himself. She was almost surprised he didn't ask her to wipe his butt for him. 

"Yes, sir," she said, trying not to show her frustration. She got up and walked into her boss' office.

"Are those letters finished yet?" he demanded.

Not asked, Carly noted. Demanded. "I'm working on them now."

"Hurry up. They need to go out as soon as possible."

"It's being taken care of," she answered calmly. She resisted the urge to hit the guy, expecting her to be done with the huge pile of work he'd given her only a half hour ago. 

"Get me a cup of coffee while you're at it."

"Yes, sir."

Carly left the office with his cup, heading for the break room.

"Oh and Miss Benson?" Davids asked, stopping her just outside his office. She turned and stuck her head through the doorway. "We're staying late tonight," he told her.

"I can't stay, sir. I have to pick my son up soon."

"I have work I have to get done. I expect you to be here as late as I am."

"I have to get home to my son. I can't leave him alone all night."

"Get a babysitter."

"My babysitter's on assignment this weekend."

"Miss Benson, if you can't fulfill your responsibilities, maybe you should find alternate employment."

Carly set the cup down on his desk. "Fine. I'll have Mrs. Milner reassign me," she said, smirking. She turned and left the office, gathering her things on her way out. Hopefully next week would be better. She put Davids out of her mind, not wanting to waste the energy thinking about him. 

~*~

Carly snuggled closer to Andrew and felt his arms tighten around her in response as she wiped away her tears. This was absolute heaven as far as she was concerned. Andrew had come over to watch movies with her and Michael. After watching the movie Michael wanted to see, she'd found an old romantic black and white movie on TV. Her son protested and tried to get Andrew on his side, but he was outvoted. He quickly became bored and fell asleep. She wasn't sure when, but at some point, Andrew had fallen asleep as well.

So here she was at the end of the movie, laying in Andrew's arms and as content as she could be.

"Caroline?" she heard his sleepy voice whisper. "Everything okay?"

"It's perfect," she whispered back, leaning up to brush her lips against his. 

He deepened the kiss, eliciting a soft moan from Carly. "Why are you crying?" he asked, momentarily releasing her mouth.

"The movie, silly." She sat up, reluctant to leave Andrew's embrace. "I should get Michael to bed."

"Want me to carry him upstairs?"

"No, he can walk," she said, kneeling next to the boy and shaking him.

"I guess I should be getting home," he said, yawning.

"You can stay here if you want. I don't want you crashing on the way home."

"I live like two minutes away." Seeing Carly frown, Andrew relented. "Can I sleep with you?" he asked teasingly.

"No. I'll get you pillows and a blanket," she told him as she guided Michael upstairs.

~*~

Carly sat quietly in Mrs. Milner's office. She'd lasted less than a day with her new boss. He wasn't Mr. Sticky Hands or Mr. I Can't Do Anything For Myself, but she wasn't about to put up with a misogynist pig who told her point blank she should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Women were good for two things and work was not one of them. Complete bastard. 

Oh well. At least she didn't punch this one. A new day, a new boss. 

"Miss Benson, your behavior was inappropriate," the older woman scolded her.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Milner. I just lost my temper. It won't happen again," Carly swore, her anxiousness evident in her face.

"It had better not." Mrs. Milner answered firmly. "I will give you one more chance, Miss Benson. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Mrs. Milner."

"Good. Now report to Deputy Chief Jones."

Carly was speechless. Deputy Chief Jones? She was going to work for Andrew? She really didn't know how to feel about this new development. "Yes, Mrs. Milner," she repeated, getting up and heading for Andrew's office.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's notes: Eek! Sorry this took so long! Brandy, Rach, goblz & Logan- thanks! Goblz- Sonny will show up much later and Carly will find out who he is before that. ;)  


"Andrew?" Carly asked, entering his office.

"Yes?" he asked without looking up from the files he was studying. 

She rolled her eyes in amusement. He obviously wasn't paying attention. "Andrew," she repeated softly, walking closer to him and leaning over his desk.

He looked up to see Carly smiling down at him. "Hey, Caroline! Just stop by to say hello?" he asked, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"Nope. Reporting for duty, sir!" she answered with a salute.

Andrew's grin disappeared. "You're my new assistant?"

"Surprise, surprise!"

"It's a surprise alright," he said, less than happy.

"Well, don't get so excited about it," she said disappointedly.

He leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Don't take this the wrong way," he said carefully, "but I don't want to work with you."

Carly was dumbfounded. "How am I supposed to not take that the wrong way?" she snapped.

"I care about you, Caroline, you know that. But I don't like mixing business with pleasure."

"Meaning you'll screw me but you won't work with me, is that it?"

"Caroline, we haven't screwed," he reminded her.

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

"Yeah, I'd rather date you than work with you. So what?" he said, leaning back in his chair. "There are other department heads and directors you could work for."

"Well, I got assigned to you. And after the fit I threw yesterday, Mrs. Milner won't reassign me again. So you'll just have to put up with me," Carly said resolutely and left the room.

Andrew followed her. "What fit? Did she send you back to Braden?"

"No, Assistant Director Schumacher," she answered, dropping her purse on the desk.

"Schumacher? What went wrong with Schumacher?" he asked, confusion evident in his face.

"What went wrong? The guy's a misogynistic bastard!"

"So?" he replied, shrugging. "At least he doesn't feel his secretaries up like Braden."

"The first thing he did was tell me women were good for two things and work wasn't one of them!"

"Oh, he's full of hot air," he said dismissively. "Take what he says with a grain of salt."

"Easy for you to say! You're a man!"

He smiled politely at a passing colleague. "Let's go back in my office and discuss this," he pleaded quietly.

Carly stormed back into the office. "There's nothing to discuss. I can't lose this job, Andrew," she told him as soon as he closed the door. "I can't keep uprooting Michael every time my ex-husband's goons find us. At least if I'm here, I know we're safe. The WSB will protect us."

"I can protect you."

"I don't want you to protect me," she snapped, her hands on her hips. That didn't sound the way she wanted it to. She sighed, rubbing her brow. "Look, I spent my life depending on men to protect me and take care of me. When I left my husband, I said no more. I depend on myself and only myself."

"I get it," he said with a sigh.

"Do you?" she asked, unconvinced.

He nodded. "My ex-wife was the same way. The depending on herself part, anyway."

Carly rolled her eyes. "Nice to know I remind you of your ex-wife," she scoffed.

He chuckled, a slight grin on his face. "Only a little bit. You not nearly as argumentative as her."

"You don't know me very well."

"You don't know her. We did nothing but bicker most of our relationship. That's how I knew it was over," he told her wistfully. "She quit fighting with me."

"My marriage was the same way, except I wouldn't call what we did bickering."

Andrew sat on the edge of his desk. "You know there's regulations against fraternization."

"Agents get married all the time," she countered.

"And most of them get in trouble for it," he responded adamantly.

Carly put her hands on her hips. She was getting frustrated with his excuses. "What are you saying, Andrew?" she asked irritatedly.

He ran a hand through his short hair. "I don't know what the hell I'm saying."

"Do you want to break up with me?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know."

"There's no reason why this can't work," she insisted.

"That means we act completely professional here at the office."

"What? I can't be professional?" she snapped. 

Andrew closed his eyes, the conversation obviously not going the way he wanted it to. "No, I mean absolutely no mention of our relationship at work, not even when we're alone."

Carly slinked up to him. "Does that mean I can't steal a kiss from you?" she whispered seductively.

"That's exactly what that means," he replied. She pouted. He caved, sighing defeatedly. "Okay, maybe one." She leaned in and kissed him softly. He quickly pulled away. "But we can't do this, even in my office." 

She stepped back, crossing her arms. "Okay."

"Nobody gossips like a bunch of spies stuck behind desks," he joked halfheartedly.

She smirked, nodding her head understandingly. "Took me all of about an hour to figure that out."

"Good."

"Work is work and home is..." she started.

"We'll see," he finished.

"Okay, then. Now that that's settled," she said, smiling again, "what do you want me to do?" By the look on his face, Carly could guess what was going through Andrew's mind and it wasn't work. She rolled her eyes in amusement. "Not that, Andrew," she reminded him.

Andrew smiled embarrassedly. "You get to do actual work," he told her, switching back to business.

"Like what? The administrative half of your job?" she asked, grinning slyly.

"Pretty close," he admitted sheepishly. "Mike forgot to warn me how much administrative crap came with the promotion."

"Who's Mike?" 

"Deputy Director Reyes," he told her. "I've got enough work without having to worry about budgets and stuff like that."

"So you're letting me do all of it."

"Hey, it beats answering phones and taking dictation."

Yeah, that would be better than what her other bosses had her doing, she had to admit. "Good point."

Andrew took her hand and led her out of his office. "Let me show you around."

~*~  


Carly sneaked a peek at the sealed file Andrew had her deliver to Reyes's office. Some sort of reports from the tiny view she could get looking through the open corners. Nothing really interesting as far as she could tell. 

"Hey, darlin'!" Faith called as she spotted Carly walking down the hall. "I've been hearin' stories 'bout you!"

Carly chuckled at the Texan's ever-present cheerful demeanor. "What kind of stories?"

Faith grinned broadly. "I hear you told off Schumacher and Davids."

"I wouldn't say I told them off."

"I am impressed, Caroline. Already a legend around here. The envy of all the female agents and the secretarial staff who didn't have the guts to do the same."

"Well, thanks, Faith."

"Who'd they send you to now?"

"Jones," she answered.

"Andy? Damn girl! You're on a roll! You have no idea how many of us would like to snag an assignment with that hunk." Faith suggestively raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to Carly. "Or how many would completely throw out on the rules on fraternization for him, too."

Carly felt a pinch of jealousy and possessiveness. "Does that include you?" she asked, trying not convey her emotions.

"Nah, I know him too well. Too much baggage for my tastes," Faith said, scrunching up her nose. "So what brings you by my desk?"

"Just dropping this off," Carly answered, presenting the file.

Faith took it and dropped it in a tray on her desk. "Mike's in meetings all afternoon. I'll be sure she gets it as soon as she gets in."

"Sure you're trustworthy, Faith?" Carly teased.

The blonde rolled her eyes, amused. "You got time to stay and chat for a bit?"

"Sure, as long as I don't have to go back to the pile of work that's sitting on my desk."

"Already?"

Carly rolled her eyes and sighed. "He's got all this stuff he wants me to read, trying to figure out the spreadsheets for some budget report he's late on and some other things he considers below him."

"But if he tries to do it, those things will never get done!" Faith said, shaking her head. "He's terrible about that stuff. Most of the department chiefs out of the field are, especially someone as green as Andy. It's the bookworms and bureaucrats you gotta avoid. They're the ones who think you don't know anything, you can't do anything and you're only here to serve their every stupid whim."

"Would he like you calling him Andy?"

"Hell no!" she drawled, pleased with herself. "He hates it, which is why I call him that. Me and him, we like to give each other a hard time."

"So this is what I have to look forward to working with?" Carly asked in exasperation.

"Oh, don't worry, he only teases the people he likes!"

"That makes me feel so much better," Carly mumbled. She noticed the strange look Faith was giving her, and decided it was time to leave. "Uh, I should get back to work now. I'll see you later, Faith." She quickly walked away, before the curious blonde questioned her.

"Okay..." Faith said in confusion, watching Carly leave. "Later..."


	8. Chapter 8

Author's notes: I've had the stuff with Faith in my mind since I started this, she has nothing to do with the lovely psycho Faith on the show. Just now realized they were starting out in similar directions, lol. ;) Kelli, jasonlover, goblz, and Brandy- thanks!

  


"What's all this, Mom?" Michael asked, uninterestedly flipping through the books and files Carly had piled around her.

"Homework," she answered with a sigh.

The boy's eyes were wide with disbelief. "Homework for your job?"

She nodded. "Yep. It's all stuff Andrew thinks I need to know."

"Why can't he just tell you all this?"

"I don't know," she replied, shrugging. "I guess he's too busy."

"Andrew's a busy guy, isn't he?"

"Very busy."

"I like Andrew. He's cool," he said, smiling.

She looked up and smiled at her young son. "I'm glad you like him. I know he likes you, too."

Michael fidgeted unsurely. "Are you going to marry him, Mom?"

The phone rang, saving Carly from any further questions. "I think it's a little early to think about that, Mr. Man," she told him, going to answer it. She picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hi!"

Carly smiled at the sound of her mother's voice. "How are you, Mama? How's Lucas?"

"We're just fine. Lucas sends his love."

"Tell him I miss him, too."

"How's your job?"

"It's been, um, interesting." Carly told her mother about the incident with Braden.

"You hit him?" Bobbie asked incredulously.

"He grabbed me!" Carly replied defensively.

"What did your boyfriend say?"

She rolled her eyes, knowing her mother would ask that question. "Andrew is not my boyfriend. We just started dating, Mama."

"Well, excuse me!" she said, her amusement carried through the phone line. "What'd he say?"

"He wished he could've been there."

"I take it Mr. Sticky Hands isn't very popular."

"Uh, no. I'm not even the first to hit him."

"So you're working for someone else now?"

"Well, I was with the next guy three days and I didn't even last a day with the last guy," she said sheepishly.

"What did you do, Carly?" Bobbie asked knowingly.

"I didn't do anything!" she defended herself. "Except yell a little bit," she added quietly.

"Oh, Carly," the redhead sighed.

"He deserved it, the misogynic bastard," she grumbled.

"You're going to get fired if you don't watch it."

"I know, Mama," Carly replied with a sigh. "You're not going to believe who they assigned me to now."

"Who?"

"Andrew."

"No way! How are things going with him?"

Carly couldn't help smiling. "Things are going pretty well."

"How's Michael handling it?"

"Michael just loves him. Andrew went to see his daughters and apparently they didn't want to see him. We were talking about it and Michael comes in to tell him that the girls are pretty dumb if they don't want to see him because he thinks Andrew is pretty cool. How sweet was that?"

"That's great, sweetie. Sounds like you found yourself a keeper."

"Mama!" Carly scolded, rolling her eyes.

"How is everything else? Do like where you're living?"

"We like it. We've both made some friends. Michael is enjoying school. I think I'm going to like my job. Andrew's giving me more responsibility than the others would. And it's safe here. The whole area belongs to the WSB. Sonny can't touch us here without getting caught by a bunch of people who give their right arm to take him down."

"That's great, Carly. All I want is for you to be happy. If Andrew and this job makes you happy, then I'm completely behind you."

"I know, Mama. We'll just have to see about Andrew and the job. But so far I'm happy and Michael's happy."

"Then I'm happy, too. Oh honey, I've got to go! The ER just beeped me. Talk to you in a few weeks! Give Michael a kiss for me! Bye!" Bobbie said in a hurry. She hung up before Carly could even get a word in.

Carly stared at the phone in her hand. "Bye, Mama," she said, somewhat dejectedly, as she hung up the phone. She leaned against the wall tiredly. She enjoyed the infrequent calls with her mother. It was the only the connection to her family she had left. She reminded herself to thank Tony again. After Sonny had found her through Bobbie's phone records shortly after she'd left, Tony had offered his office to them, saying Sonny wouldn't be able to trace the call if it went through the hospital switchboard. Despite everything she had done to him in the past, Tony had still been kind enough to try and help her. A kindness she swore she would find a way to repay one day.

A knock on the door startled her. She rolled her eyes and sighed. At this rate, she was never going to get through all that reading. "Coming!" she yelled.

She opened the door to find a tearful Faith on the other side. "I hope you don't mind me stopping by," the blonde said, smiling sadly.

"No, not at all," Carly said, motioning her inside. "What's wrong, Faith?"

"Oh nothing's wrong," she answered. She followed the other woman into the kitchen, stopping only for Carly to look in on Michael. "I just didn't want to be alone today."

They sat at the table, pushing the books and files out of the way. "Why?" Carly asked sympathetically.

The nearly always present smile disappeared from her face. "It's the anniversary of my husband's death. Three years."

Carly's heart went out to the blonde. She still remembered all the nights she didn't sleep worrying about Sonny and Jason. "I'm sorry," she said, reaching out to touch her.

The Texan smiled again and squeezed her hand. "Oh, it's okay, honey. I just hate this day."

"How did he die? If you don't mind me asking."

"He was undercover and his cover was blown. The crime boss he was investigating had him murdered. That's why I left Miami and transferred here."

Carly's blood ran cold. _He's a fed. Tell DiLucca I want him eliminated, Jason._ Sonny's voice rang through her mind. She had a bad feeling Faith's husband was the fed Roy had caught, the one she happened to overhear Sonny ordering a hit on. "Who was he investigating?" she asked apprehensively.

"A mob boss named Corinthos. Why?"

She closed her eyes. "I know who killed him," she admitted quietly.

"I'm sure Corinthos ordered it. I don't really care who pulled the trigger." Faith narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How do you know Joe's killer?"

"He was my mother's fiancé." Carly looked away from her friend. She couldn't look the other woman in the eye. "Sonny Corinthos is my ex-husband."

"The ex you're running from is Sonny?" she asked in angry disbelief. "You're Carly Corinthos?"

Carly just nodded her head. Faith stood up and walked a few feet away, her face in her hands.

"Faith, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything." Faith wiped away the tears that had begun to fall. "I need to go." She made a hasty exit from the room, heading for the door.

"Faith!" Carly, called rushing after the blonde. She made it into the hall in time to see the front door close. "Damn it," she groaned, resting her head on the doorframe. Faith was one of her few friends and her life with Sonny had just isolated her again. God, she had never felt like killing her ex-husband more in her life.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's notes: This is back too! ;) More on Faith's background and the whole situation gets to Carly... Rach- lol, I was working on this when you replied to Taking Chances! Nice timing! ;) Logan, fairiangel, Brnady, Rena, and Teri- thank you!!!  


  


Carly couldn't get her mind off Faith. She'd had so few good friends, she couldn't stand to lose one over something so stupid. She felt so bad for upsetting her friend on what was probably an already terrible day. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned Sonny and just let the woman vent about her dead husband. She didn't need to know Sonny was her ex-husband. Carly should've just left her mouth shut.

She gone upstairs to apologize to her, but the dimwit substitute secretary told her Faith had taken some time off, to Carly's disappointment. So she had left a message with the secretary for Faith to call when she returned to work. She'd tried to get Faith at home as well, but that proved fruitless as well. The Texan was nowhere to be found.

It had been a week and Carly had heard nothing. More than once the thought of going to Port Charles and shooting Sonny had crossed her mind. "Damn him," she muttered for what seemed like the millionth time that week, throwing down her pen.

"Everything okay?"

Andrew's voice jolted her out of her thoughts. "Everything's fine, Andrew," she replied, smiling. "I was just thinking."

"Care to share?"

She smirked knowingly. "Don't you have a plane to catch?" she asked, changing the subject. She had pretty much blown him off all week, her mind on Faith and Sonny. Her new relationship wasn't the first thing she wanted to deal with when the last one was still haunting her. Another thing for her to feel bad about. Andrew didn't deserve it.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered, rolling his eyes. "Actually, I'm waiting for Mike. She's supposed to meet me down here."

"So I finally get to meet the infamous Mike?"

"And you must be the infamous Caroline," a female voice said from behind Andrew. A blond woman about Andrew's age walked up to her desk and extended her hand to Carly. "Mike Reyes."

Carly shook her hand, smiling at the older woman. "Caroline Benson. Nice to meet you."

"No, it's nice to finally meet you after all I've heard," she said, throwing an amused glance at Andrew. "Ready to go yet, Jones?"

"Let me get my stuff," he grumbled. He retreated to his office, glancing suspiciously back at the two women.

"How's Faith?" Carly asked, concerned, as soon as Andrew disappeared.

Mike smiled weakly. "She's alright. She just needed a few days to herself." She paused. "Faith told me what happened. It's not your fault, Caroline. You just threw her for a loop. She's had a hard time with Joe's death, hiding from your ex and all."

Carly's heart jumped in her throat. "Hiding?" she repeated shakily.

The older woman's face fell guiltily. "You didn't know?" She watched Carly shook her head. She sighed, pulling up a nearby chair and sitting down. Andrew stepped out of his office and looked between them, confused. "Jones, lose yourself for a couple minutes," she ordered. He just rolled his eyes and went back into his office, shutting the door behind him. Mike turned back to Carly. "Faith was working for your ex-husband in New York, that's how she met Joe. She got on his bad side and Joe offered to protect her. When he was transferred to Miami, he got her a job in the local office. Shortly after that they got married, then the order was handed down. Faith was devastated, but she decided to stay. One of Corinthos's men found out she was there and started harassing her."

Carly sighed. "Roy diLucca?"

"You know him?"

"He was almost my stepfather. I think he's still good friends with my uncle."

"Ah, yes. The infamous Luke Spencer. I've heard quite all about him. Sounds like an interesting guy," Mike said amusedly. "Yeah, diLucca was the one harassing Faith. The Bureau moved her here to protect her. So far they haven't found her."

Carly put her head in her hands, her elbows resting on the desk. "I feel terrible for telling her about Sonny."

"Caroline, don't beat yourself up over it. She wouldn't found out sooner or later. It really isn't your fault," Mike assured the younger woman. "Just give her a little while, she'll come around."

"I hope so," she replied softly. She hated the thought of losing a friend and she hated what Sonny had done. 

She cringed, fear taking over. If Sonny had found Faith in Miami, maybe he could find the both of them here...

Carly could feel Mike's eyes watching her, watching her reaction. "If he hasn't found her, I doubt he'll find you either."

She frowned sadly. "We'll see. I don't think he's given up on me yet."

Mike glanced at her watch. She got up and opened the office door. "Let's get moving, Jones," she said to Andrew inside. She gave Carly a sympathetic smile. "It was nice to meet you. Faith should be back to work in a day or so. I'm sure things will be better."

Andrew stood in the doorway, bags slung over his shoulder and his arms crossed. "Anything I should know about?"

"Just girl stuff," Mike answered vaguely.

"Whatever," he replied, amusedly rolling his eyes. "The fort's yours Caroline, until I get back."

"Enjoy your trip, " Carly said, matching his amusement. She watched Mike and Andrew walk down the hallway together, Andrew giving her one last wave before disappearing from sight. 

Carly rushed into the office, leaning against the door as she closed it behind her. Mike's words began to sink in. All this pain because of Sonny. Faith's life, her life, Michael's life... All practically void because of him. What kind of life could she and Michael have on the run? What kind of life did Faith have hiding from the man who murdered her husband? When Sonny finally found her again, he'd find Faith again. She couldn't risk her friend like that. And Andrew... God, what would Sonny do to Andrew? She told herself that Andrew was a WSB agent, he could handle Sonny, but it didn't stop from being scared of her ex-husband all over again. She squeezed her eyes shut, her tears spilling down her cheeks as she let herself break down.

~*~ 

Carly had no idea how long she'd been sitting quietly in Andrew's office. She had moved from the door to the floor, sitting with her back against the wall, near the windows behind his desk. She should be doing her job, but she just couldn't force herself to move.

These times were few. Normally she was too busy worrying to let the enormity of her situation overwhelm her. Besides, she'd never been one to just sit and cry. She had always been a woman of action. Okay, her actions usually blew up in her face or came back to haunt her, but she never sat around whining like Liz or Robin. She had a problem, she took care of it. But Sonny was the one problem she'd run from like a weakling. Totally un-Carly.

But there wasn't anything else she could've done, she knew. It had taken all her strength to leave the husband she loved and it was taking all the strength she could muster for her son to keep going.

The phone rang again. She finally picked herself up off the floor and answered it. 

"Caroline?" Andrew's concerned voice said through the phone line. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine," she said, less than convincing.

"Sure? I called a while ago and you didn't answer."

"I was just away from my desk for a little while," she lied. "No biggie. Is there something you wanted?"

"No, I was just checking up while I had a free minute. You looked kinda upset when we left."

"I'm fine, Andrew. Really."

"Did Mike say something..."

"No!" she snapped.

He sighed. "What did she say? I know she can be pretty brash sometimes..."

"It's nothing, Andrew," she insisted, rubbing her forehead. "It's not her. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay, I'll drop it, but you know I'm around if you want to talk about it."

"I appreciate that, Andrew."

She hung up the phone with a sigh. She had a good thing in DC. A good man, a good job, friends. A life away from the mob, away from Sonny, away from all the mistakes she'd made in the past. She had to do something about Sonny. 

Carly picked up the phone and dialed General Hospital's number. "Bobbie Spencer, please."

  



	10. Chapter 10

Author's notes: Okay, I was hoping to have this up like two weeks ago, but writing's been very slow for awhile now. Just a warning for those of you that like Sonny, this is _not_ a Sonny-friendly chapter! Actually felt kinda guilty about making Sonny look so bad when I started this part a couple months ago, but the way he's been acting on the show the last few weeks... I don't feel so bad anymore. Chapter's a little on the short side, but I'll make up for it next chapter. ;) Now we get to hear Faith's side of the story... Rach, Kelli, fairieangel, MzMocha, maliek & Teri- thank you! 

Carly was packing up to leave for the day when she noticed Faith walking down the hallway. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was dressed in jeans and a casual shirt. She strode purposefully down the hallway to Carly's desk, her arms crossed.

Carly smiled. "Hi, Faith," she said softly as the blonde approached her. 

Faith's eyes were red and slightly swollen. She'd obviously been crying. "Can we talk someplace private? Please?"

Carly led her into Andrew's office and closed the door behind them. "Listen Faith..."

The Texan cut her off. "I'm sorry for the way I've behaved. None of this is your fault and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. You just caught me off guard." 

"No, it's okay, Faith."

"I never thought I'd ever run into you anywhere, much less here." She rubbed the back of her neck. Her head fell back as she laughed humorlessly. "World Security Bureau. God, I'd love to see Sonny's face when he finds out who you're working for."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Carly scoffed. "Not sure the barware could handle it."

"He does have quite the temper."

"Listen, I'm sorry for bringing him up at all. You were trying to confide in me and I just dumped that in your lap. I should've just kept my mouth shut."

"I'm glad you told me, Carly."

"Caroline," she told her flatly. "I'm not Carly anymore."

"Fair enough," Faith replied uneasily. "But I think I should come clean with you, too."

Carly looked at the other woman in confusion, no idea what she could be talking about. "About what?"

"Sonny," the blonde said with a sigh. She sat at the small meeting table at the opposite end of the room. "Actually he's the reason I met Joe. I was working for Sonny in New York."

That was information Carly already knew, but chose to let Faith tell the story. "That's how you knew who I was."

"Yes and no." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I slept with Sonny."

It didn't sink in what Faith had just told her. "What?" she asked in disbelief, sure that she didn't hear that correctly. Sonny couldn't have cheated on her, not again.

"I thought that we were having an affair, that he actually cared about me. Stupid, huh?" Faith asked, laughing bitterly. She continued, taking no notice of the shock in her friend's face. "You know what Sonny's like, the whole Madonna/whore complex. I slept with a married man, so what does that make me, you know? He treated me like poor white trailer trash." She smiled wistfully. "Joe always told me I was better than that. He was always real sweet to me, treated me like I was something special." She wiped away a stray tear. "Anyway, the feds were sniffing around and Sonny found out that they were questioning me, got it in his head that I was singing like a canary. Not that he had any evidence that I was and he wasn't about to change his mind. He blew up anyway, accused me of selling him out and threatened to kill me. Joe told me he was actually an undercover agent and got me out of there. He risked his life to protect me. When Sonny sent him to Miami, I went too. He got me the job with the WSB there, we got married, we were happy for awhile. Then Joe's cover got blown and..."

"Sonny put out the hit out on him," Carly finished for her.

"Yeah. That guy, diLucca, found out I was there and started following me around everywhere." She rubbed her forehead anxiously, trying to get through the story. "Sonny had actually put out a hit on me. I never even knew. My boss told me I was being transferred and immediately had me escorted to a plane, already had my personal stuff loaded. Didn't even tell me where I was going."

"Just get the hell out as fast as possible, leave everything behind, start all over again. I know how that goes."

Faith wiped away another tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry, Caroline. I knew it was stupid to be sleeping with another woman's husband and I shouldn't have done it. Hell, I shouldn't have been working for the mob in the first place. My momma taught me better than that."

"It's okay, Faith. You weren't the one that was supposed to be faithful." Carly snorted, feeling the bitterness towards her ex-husband uncontrollably rising up in her. She plopped down in one of chairs near Andrew's desk. "You weren't the only one he had."

They were silent for a few minutes, neither sure of what to say. Carly just tried to wrap her mind around what Faith had confessed to her. No wonder the woman had stayed away. So much pain mixed with a guilty conscience, all because of Sonny. That lying, two-timing, hypocritical bastard…

"He treated me like trash, too," Carly told her quietly. "He told me I was a whore, called me every name in the book. He slept with me just to prove to Jason how much of a slut I was."

"Jason Morgan?"

She nodded. "He and I were sort of together for awhile. But the night I slept with Sonny killed any chance I had with him. I ended up pregnant, but I miscarried. Without going into all the dirty details, Sonny and I got married. The four years we were together, I don't think he ever respected me. I couldn't hardly speak to another man without him getting insanely jealous. Everything I did, it seem like he was screaming that I'd betrayed him." She grimaced. She was partly responsible for Faith's situation. " I was the one that turned him over to the feds. I made the deal with the FBI and wore the wire for him. I thought if I could get him out of the mob, I could save him and we'd be safe. We could finally be a happy little family. Sonny didn't see it that way, of course."

"Betrayal, betrayal, betrayal. I heard that song and dance, too."

Carly laughed. She couldn't help herself. It wasn't really funny, but something about that particular phrase just struck her as hilarious. "Song and dance! That's a great way to put it!"

Faith joined her. "I bet he practices it!" she joked.

"You _betrayed_ me!" Carly said mockingly, arms flailing dramatically as if she were throwing a glass, copying her ex-husband. Faith keeled over, laughing so hard she was crying.

The two women finally calmed down, still smiling. It felt good to be able to laugh again, especially at something that had caused both of them so much pain. 

"Andy's the only one that's been able to make me laugh that hard," Faith said, giggling.

Carly giggled at the mention of his name. "He does have a wicked sense of humor."

"You'd have to to live his life," the blonde said, sighing. "I love him dearly, but he's nuts."

Carly's expression turned serious. "Are we still cool?" she asked apprehensively. "I'll understand if you don't want…"

Faith cut her off, smiling. "I think you and me are just fine, darlin'. I'm not going to walk away from a friend because of someone who deserves to be roadkill."

Carly stood up and accepted the Texan's comforting hug, smiling deviously. The gears were already turning in her mind, starting to form a plan. This scheme couldn't be half-assed or rushed, this was something that would take meticulous planning and execution. She had resources at her disposal that she'd never had before, resources to do the job right and not get caught. 

Sonny was not going to get away with selfishly hurting people yet again. It was time he paid for his crimes and Carly was going to make damn sure he didn't escape this time.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's notes: Oh my gosh, I actually updated within a month! LOL. ;) Actually had this nearly ready to go when I posted the last one. Familiar face (well, not face exactly) makes an appearance this time. A couple people mentioned wanting romance back, I hate to disappoint, not in this chapter. But Andrew will be back next chapter with a little romance. :) Rach, fairieangel, Logan, SkyeHigh- thank you! Nattie- no, that Faith isn't the one that's in PC, although she does get a mention as well this chapter! Lil Kim 2489- no, it wasn't on Wicked Games (at least I didn't put it there), but I have also been posting it at SoapZone. Teri- Jason will definitely be showing up in the not too distant future and there will be some J&C stuff. 

Carly sighed. The phone had been ringing off the hook all day and she hadn't been able to get anything done. She'd have to either take this stuff home or find a babysitter for Michael at this rate. She was half tempted to ignore it, since the call was on her private line, not the office's main line. "This is Caroline," she answered exasperatedly.

"Deputy Chief Jones, please. This is Mac Scorpio. I'm returning his call."

She recognized the voice immediately, despite the fact she hadn't spoken to him in two years. Hearing the police commissioner's voice was like a flashback of her past. She'd called him, wanting information about Sonny. "Mac, it's Carly."

"Carly?" he asked, shocked. 

"Yeah. Look, I'm sorry, but I'm the one that called you. I just thought if I gave my boss's name, you'd call me back faster." She sighed softly. "And I was afraid somebody on Sonny's payroll might get their hands the number and be able to trace it."

"You're working for the WSB?" A soft chuckle came across the phone line. "You're working for..." he trailed off, chuckling again.

"I know, I know. It's hilarious," she said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. 

"No, it's just..."

"It's just what?"

"Nothing," he replied amusedly. "I just thought it was funny, that's all."

"The reason I called you..." Carly started.

"Sonny?" Mac finished resignedly.

She sighed. "Yeah."

"The FBI has another undercover agent inside," he told her. "I just talked to them yesterday. He says Sonny has no idea where you are."

She was surprised. With Hannah Banana, Mac hadn't known any more than anyone else in Port Charles. "You know who the undercover guy is?"

"No, the FBI decided to actually work with us this time. I asked them to notify me if Sonny got any leads on your whereabouts. I figured if I knew what he knew, I could let Bobbie know before he had a chance to get to you."

Mac Scorpio had no reason to help her, not after the way she'd treated his niece. Hell, most of Port Charles didn't have any reason to help her, but since she'd left Sonny, people that had hated her at one point had repeatedly surprised her with kindness, although it was mostly through her mother. "I appreciate that, Mac," she said softly, smiling slightly. 

"No problem. What did you need?"

Carly leaned forward determinedly, resting her elbows on the desk. "I need everything you have on Sonny. I don't care how you get it. I just need to know where Sonny's going to be and when. No questions asked."

~*~

Sarah bounded up to Carly's desk. "What did you need?" she asked. "You made it sound important."

Carly smiled at her friend. "I need you to help me practice my shooting."

"Why don't you ask Andrew? I'm sure he'd love to help you." Sarah leaned closer to her with a mischievous grin. "Especially since it requires standing _close_ behind you."

"Oh hush up," she playfully scolded. "Besides he's still out of town for a couple more days."

Sarah sat down in the chair still sitting next to her desk. "Why the rush? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Carly answered defensively. The last thing she wanted to do was involve Sarah, but she couldn't go to Andrew, not for this. And she couldn't tell her the real reason she wanted help. "I just need a few pointers, that's all. My aim was never that good."

"You worried about Sonny finding you?"

Was she worrying about it, not anymore. She wasn't running and she wasn't going to let him go after one of her friends. Not when she could stop him. "Yes," she lied. "Just in case."

"You have a gun?"

She held a piece of paper. "I have a signed requisition for one."

"Smooth, Caroline. Real smooth," the redhead said, shaking her head in amusement. "Now where's my expense approval?"

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes," Sarah said, sighing. "I'll help you out."

"It went out this morning," Carly answered.

"I'll show you to the weapons department after work."

Carly smiled warmly at her friend. "I appreciate this, Sarah."

~*~

Carly struggled with the books and files in her arms as she tried to unlock the front door. "Damn it," she cursed, dropping her keys for the third time. "Michael!" she shouted through the door as she knocked, hoping he could hear her. "Michael, open the door!"

"What's the password?" the boy asked.

She sighed. "Cassadine." They'd come up with the password system just after they'd left Port Charles, so when he had to answer the door, he'd know if everything was okay or if he should call the police and hide. Cassadine if it was clear, Spencer if it wasn't. The password was something they'd been lax on since moving to Washington, feeling safe enough that it wasn't needed anymore. She'd left him alone two days in a row as she stayed late, yesterday to work, today to meet with Sarah. It was silly she knew, but she just wanted to make sure her son would be okay by himself.

Michael opened the door, looking at her in surprise. "More work?" he asked, moving aside for her to come inside.

"Yeah. Can you grab my keys? I dropped them outside." She wobbled inside and dumped the pile on the sofa, plopping down next to it. 

The boy shut the door behind him and rearmed the security system. He leaned over the sofa and handed his mother the keys.

"Everything okay while I was gone?" she asked tiredly.

"Yeah, fine."

On the TV flashed a "Game Paused" screen. She'd told him to have his homework done when, but this wouldn't be the first time he'd played video games instead. "You do your homework, Mr. Man?"

"Most of it. And I ordered pizza."

She sat up. "You ordered pizza?"

Michael looked at her sheepishly. "I was hungry and I didn't know what to fix. You left a twenty on the refrigerator. I gave them a password. I didn't think you'd mind."

"You gave them the password? Michael, you know better than to give out the password!"

"I didn't gave them the password, I gave them a password," he told her. "I made one up. Andrew told me everyone who works here has to have a high security clearance, especially the delivery drivers because they have to go into secured zone sometimes."

She sighed. It was a little hard to argue with Andrew, but Michael did have a point. They had their own shops and restaurants, she supposed it was safe enough for him to order pizza on his own. She smiled tiredly. "Did you leave any for me?"

"Of course!" 

She watched her son rush out of the room and into the kitchen. She sat back, rubbing her exhausted eyes, and grabbed one of the paperback training manuals she'd checked out- Remote Surveillance Techniques.

~*~

Carly waited until Michael had gone to bed to look at the files Mac had sent her. It was much more than she'd expected, making her think he'd gone out of his way and gotten the FBI's information as well. She made a mental note to thank him for his help in the morning.

As she read through the file, a chill ran down her spine. Sonny was expanding his business, working with people she never thought he would. According to the partially blacked out reports, Sonny was probably having another one of his episodes, just lashing out and barking orders at anyone in his path. Actually, it was Jason expanding the business. Jason was the one who made Sonny's raving wishes happen, Jason was the one everyone followed orders from, Jason was the one who did the dirty work. But it was Sonny making these moves. It was Sonny making a deal with Lorenzo Alcazar. It was Sonny giving power to Faith Rosco. It was Sonny that was going to get them all sent to Sing Sing for life.

Sonny had been making a lot of trips to the city to meet with Faith. Carly couldn't help but think of her friend and wonder how many other Faiths there were out there. She'd always assumed he had been faithful to her, to their love. Oh, he was full of Faith alright, she thought bitterly. The report may have suggested these meetings were business, but Carly had her doubts, especially since Jason wasn't involved.

Carly closed the file, sighing tiredly. She knew where he went in Port Charles, she knew the guards' schedules. The plans to the penthouse should be in the WSB's files, probably connected to Robert Scorpio's file. Thanks to the FBI's surveillance on Sonny's trips, she knew where he went in New York City. So many possibilities for her to carry out her plan, Carly had to remind herself not to get too many steps ahead of herself. She was _not_ going to let this plan backfire.

  



	12. Chapter 12

Author's notes: Andrew is back this chapter! Things are going to be picking soon for Carly... ;) Logan13- thanks! Teri- hehe, Jason isn't the guy at the moment. Thanks! Rach- you bet Sonny's in trouble! Lo isn't going to be making any appearances, so don't worry about him. :) Thanks! 

  
  


Carly held her breath as she watched Andrew storm into his office. She'd noticed he'd returned from his trip, which ended up lasting nearly a week longer than expected, when she had gotten in that morning, but he had been in meetings in another building all day. She got up and looked through the doorway cautiously. 

Andrew threw his coat on a short file cabinet frustratedly. He clawed at his tie, practically ripping it off when it was loose enough. He struggled with the buttons on his shirt, but finally got the top two undone.

"Bad morning?" Carly asked softly.

"Bad doesn't even begin to describe it," he snorted. She went over to him and touched his shoulder. He didn't even notice. "I can't _believe_ the stupidity of some of the people around here!" He took a few steps and then turned to face her. "I spent half the morning hearing about how _I_ don't know what's going on in the world by a bunch of dumbass college boys who spent their careers riding desks! Oh, the best one was when they told me _I_ don't know what I'm doing and _they_ know better how to deal with terrorists. Me, who's spent nearly half my life in the field fighting terrorists. Me, who gave up my wife, my family, my whole fucking life to fight terrorists while they schmoozed the suits. And _I'm_ the one who doesn't know what I'm doing!"

She sighed. She knew who'd spoken up. Good ol' Mr. Sticky Hands would be the few around here to be that egotistical. "Braden?"

"Who else would have the nerve to say something like that to me?" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I have worked damn hard to get where I am and I am damn good at my job. I am in charge of counter-terrorism for a reason. And it isn't because I know how to bullshit."

"I know. And I know you'll prove that to them."

The look in his eyes changed from anger to that of a hurt little boy. Andrew suddenly pulled Carly into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to just unload on you like that."

She chuckled and pulled back far enough to kiss him tenderly. "It's okay."

He kissed her again, much more passionately this time. "I missed you, baby."

"I missed you too." He sat on the edge of his desk, pulling her with him. "Let me make it up to you. How 'bout I take you and Michael out to dinner tonight?"

"Alright," she agreed, sighing as if it was a sacrifice. "But no video games. I don't want you two boys ditching me again."

Andrew pouted, hiding a smile. "Yes, ma'am." He released her and walked around the desk. He slumped down in his chair and sighed. "Anything that absolutely needs my attention or can we sneak out for the rest of the day?"

"I put everything that needs your signature in the folder that's covering your keyboard and Faith's been calling for you. She says if you don't call her back this second, she's going to come down here, hog tie you and force you to listen to Loretta Lynn."

He let out an exaggerated laugh. "I'd like to see her try!"

Carly put a hand on her hip. "I'm sure that can be arranged," she told him with a smirk, knowing the cheery Texan would do it just to aggravate him. "I'll be happy to call her and let her know."

Andrew sighed in defeat. "Okay, okay. I'm calling her."

"And you have a nice, fat folder of op reports to go through, plus a conference call with Langley in an hour."

"Oh joy," he groaned. "Put Ross and Langdon on the call. Files are in the lockbox. I am really not in the mood to deal with a bunch of CIA yahoos right now."

"I'll let them know." 

He flipped through the files as she walked out of his office. She was barely outside the doorway when he called her name. "What's up with all the training materials?" he asked in confusion.

Her heart jumped in her throat. She couldn't tell him truth. Hopefully he'd buy the only excuse she could give him. "I thought it would help if I knew how things around here worked," she lied.

"Help? How?" he asked, suddenly sounding skeptical.

She could no longer read his expression. His face was like stone. Cold, emotionless, an expression she'd seen several times in meetings. It was like a mask, a defense mechanism, covering his real thoughts. Tool of the trade, he'd once said. She licked her lips and took a deep breath before answering. "Well, some of the paperwork gets so technical and I usually don't have much clue what it says. I just thought I could assist you better if I knew what all of it was."

"And you think you're going to get all that knowledge through bits and pieces of training?"

She smiled, hoping he wasn't seeing through her. "Well, yeah. You've got way too much to do to hold my hand and most of it I can do on my own time..."

Andrew cut her off. "Okay. If that's what you want." He signed the forms and handed them back to her. "Happy hunting," he said cryptically.

What a strange response, Carly thought. "Thank you," she replied unsurely, going back to her own work, wondering if she'd blown her plan already. 

~*~

Carly drove slowly through the streets and admired the manicured lawns of the much nicer houses of the secured zone, the houses reserved for the upper echelon of the WSB. Security was unlike anything she'd seen outside of the building she worked in. Heavily armed guards stood around the gates and on towers scattered between the two security retaining walls. Just to get through the gate, fingerprints were taken from both her and Michael and run through the databases before the guards called Andrew to verify they were his guests. The neighborhood itself was something out of a movie. It was perfect, almost too perfect. She half expected the Cleavers or the Bradys to come running out of one of the houses. Or the robot women from the Stepford Wives.

Michael was telling her about the joke one of the other boys in his class played on their teacher, but her mind drifted to the mansions that sat in the heart of the secured zone. They rose above the other houses, it was hard to miss them.

She had always wanted the big house, the rich man, the fancy cars. Part of her still wanted it. She'd had those things, with Sonny and AJ, but none of it had made her any happy. She'd learned that lesson the hard way. No house could replace what she'd lost, what her child was losing out on, because of her choices.

She tried to shake the thoughts from her head and focus on Michael's story. He was all she had, all she needed.

"Mom, are you listening to me?"

She smiled, trying to cover being caught not entirely paying attention. "Of course, sweetie."

"You didn't look like it," he said sadly, glancing out the window.

Her heart broke at the sad look on his face. "I'm sorry, Michael. I guess I just spaced out for a moment."

"Okay."

The boy sounded anything but okay. She sighed. "Finish your story, sweetie. What did Miss Morris say?"

"Not much. She dragged Sergei to the principal's office. Tommy said she yelled at him pretty bad..."

He continued to talk as they pulled into Andrew's drive. The house was fairly small considering, the backyard stopping against the inside security wall. It was nondescript, like most every other house on the block. A few bushes in the front, no flowers or anything personal. It was just a house, not a home. Just someplace he lived, a roof over his head. He hadn't told her a whole lot about his life in the field, but from what she'd gathered through her job, that was probably exactly the way he viewed it. He wasn't one to dwell on the material things most of the time.

"This isn't very homey," Michael commented, echoing her thoughts. "I guess this is why he always comes to our house."

"But in a weird way it is very Andrew."

Andrew stepped outside as Carly and Michael got out of the car. He was wearing an apron that was covered with red sauce and whatever else. "Welcome to Casa WSB," he said jokingly.

Carly smiled. "Casa WSB, that's cute." She kissed him lightly, then stepped back and took a good look at him. "What's up with..." she trailed off, gesturing to his dirty clothes.

He smiled. "I made dinner."

"You made dinner?"

"I told you I could cook," he said, leading them into the house. "I made lasagna."

The entryway was small, opening directly into a formal living room. A very sparse formal living room. There was furniture, but not a single picture, like his office. The room looked like it had never been touched.

A dining room was off one side of the room, looking as impersonal as the living room. Between the two rooms was a doorway, leading into one large room. The kitchen, a dining area, a small bar, and a family room were all in the one open floorplan area, with a stairway to the second floor. Carly smiled faintly. Now this part of the house looked lived in. Files were piled in several places, including on the floor along the floor-to-ceiling windows behind the table; classic rock blasted from the stereo; the kitchen counters were a mess; pillows and a blanket were still on the couch, as if he'd been sleeping there. 

The second Michael spotted the TV, he ran right for it. "Oh cool!" he cried. "He has a big screen, Mom!"

"Sorry, the place is such a mess," Andrew said embarrassedly. "I meant to get it cleaned up before you got here and I just left the office too late..."

"The other two rooms were so clean, I was beginning to wonder if you lived at the office," she said, still looking around. She picked up the pillows from the sofa and set them on the floor. "Sleeping on the couch?"

"I was trying to get those reports ready for the trip, I had everything spread out on the table, it was just easier to sleep down here. You want a glass of wine?"

"Sure."

"He has a Playstation, Mom!" Michael told his mother excitedly, drawing her attention away. He turned on the system and the opening screen for the boy's favorite game came up. "Look, he even has the same games!"

Carly stifled a laugh and looked at Andrew knowingly. "Just couldn't let him win, could you?"

Andrew looked down in mock shame, hiding his smile. "He kept kicking my butt all over the place, I just wanted to be a little competitive," he said, handing her a glass.

She shook her head gently and took a sip of the wine. "You bought an expensive game system and a bunch of games just to beat a nine year old."

"When you put it that way..."

She touched his face and kissed him tenderly. "That's sweet," she said softly.

"Sweet?"

"Well, I was going between that and immature. I thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Gee, thanks."

Carly continued to look around the room. Although there were a few decorative pictures hung, there was hardly anything personal anywhere, almost like a hotel room. In fact, the only personal picture out was one of her and Michael that sat on an empty shelf. "No pictures of the girls?" she asked quietly.

All amusement disappeared from his face. "I have a few in a box that I haven't gotten around to unpacking yet."

"None in your wallet either."

He shook his head. "Never kept any with me."

The idea of not having pictures of one's children was beyond her. Although her pictures of Michael, especially when he was young, were limited, she couldn't imagine keeping them anywhere but close to her heart. "Why?"

"I was always afraid of getting caught and someone going after them, so I put the pictures in storage as soon as I got them."

"Must've made you sad not to at least be able to look at your daughters' pictures while you were away."

He shrugged. "I guess," he said, feigning indifference.

Carly knew better. She could see it in his eyes, see how much it hurt. "You're avoiding unpacking that box, aren't you?"

Andrew smiled. Ignoring her question, he changed the subject. "I think dinner's almost ready."

~*~

Dinner was nice, but uneventful. It wasn't the gourmet meals Carly was used to with Sonny, but Andrew's lasagna was indeed good. He cheated a bit with desert by buying ice cream, something she had joked she'd never forgive him for. Afterwards, she and Andrew had gone outside and sat on the steps of the back porch, while Michael chose to stay inside and watch TV.

"Beautiful view, huh?" he joked.

The view wasn't much. The inner security wall was high, over twelve foot tall, and the top was covered by two loops of electrified barbed wire. Basically the only things that could be seen were a few roofs close by and the sky. 

"Of course!" she replied, chuckling. "As long as you look above the wall and the barbed wire." She sipped her glass of wine. "It's such a lovely night."

"No arguments here."

Andrew wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, kissing her temple. She laid her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for a long time, just staring at the stars and enjoying each other's company.

"I wish I could stay like this forever," she said finally.

"That would be very nice," he murmured.

"You know what you need out here?"

"What?"

"A swing," she told him. "A swing would be perfect on a night like this."

"You're right, it would be," he agreed with a nod. "I'll have to get one."

Carly smiled. "You do that." She leaned up and brushed her lips against his. He gazed into her eyes momentarily before capturing her lips again in a passionate kiss. He stroked her hair and his hand came to rest at the nape of her neck, gently holding her head close.

God, this moment all she wanted was to throw herself at him, get wrapped up in this kiss. He made her feel so wonderful, in a way she never thought possible. It wasn't confining, she didn't feel like she had to be anything other than herself with him. He never talked down to her, never sent her to her room, never treated her like a whore or an incubator. She wasn't a burden or someone to just be tolerated. She was just Caroline and he wanted her.

No, she told herself. She had promised herself she would take it slow this time. Not only did she have Michael to think about, she had her heart to consider. The last thing she wanted was another broken heart.

She pulled away reluctantly. "It's getting late. I should get Michael home."

He smiled disappointedly as she stood and stepped closer to the door. "Alright," he whispered. "I enjoyed the evening."

She leaned down and kissed him quickly, one more time. "I did too." She glanced back at the house. "And I think it's safe to say Michael has enjoyed your TV."

He chuckled. "I knew that big screen would come in handy one day."

"My son is quite impressed with it."

"My work here is done," he said in mock satisfaction.

"Now I see, you're dating me for my kid," she teased.

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "No, but he's a nice part of the package."

Carly couldn't hold back a faint smile. She turned around in his arms. "I'm glad you see it that way."

"Why wouldn't I? He's a great kid."

"Most of the men I've met since my divorce weren't interested in a kid."

He smiled, brushing hair away from face. "I'm not most men."

"Good." Carly kissed him lightly again and went inside.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's notes: I know chapters seem to be coming at a snail's pace with this fic, but I promise all of you, this is getting ready to kick into high gear. A familiar face makes a big cameo in this chapter... ;) Liz, fairieangel- thanks for the reviews! 

Carly stood at the shooting range, determined look on her face. She put another magazine in the pistol, slamming it into place. She held the gun out, gripping it tightly with one hand and steadying it with the other. She carefully took aim at the center of the target. She emptied the magazine into the paper man, bullet by bullet, following the tips Sarah had given her. 

The magazine empty, she pushed the button to bring the target back to her. Her fingers lightly brushed over the bullet holes, examining her handiwork. She was getting better, much better, but still not good enough.

She glanced down at her watch. She still had more time before she needed to get back to work.

Carly replaced the target and reloaded the magazine. There was time enough for one more round.

"Looking good, Caroline."

She spun sharply around at the sound of the voice behind her. She let out a sigh of relief, seeing who the voice belonged to. Stanley, the geeky weapons guru who also ran the shooting range, was looking at the used target. The lanky young man looked more like someone who'd be at home behind a computer than a gun. She removed the protective headphones, smiling shyly. "Thanks," she said. "I'm getting better, I think."

"You are. But you know, if you want precision, you should consider moving up to rifles," he suggested helpfully.

A little too helpfully for Carly's taste. Stanley seemed like a nice guy, but every time she came down here, he was hitting on her in his own geeky way. She learned very quickly, a smile went a long way with him, especially when she wanted something. "Really?" she replied, trying to sound surprised.

Stanley pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Handguns are alright for short distance stuff and everyday protection. But with training, I bet you could take FDR right off the dime at 100 yards."

She didn't buy it, but humored him anyway. "I'm guessing that takes a lot of training, right?"

His face lit up. "There's a sharpshooter class coming up," he said, trying to contain his excitement. "I think there's a slot still open."

Sharpshooting... That was definitely a skill she could use. If only she could get into that slot. "I doubt they'd let me in. You know I'm not an agent."

"Most of the training classes don't have that kind of requirement. WSB is big on training and moving people around." He grinned smugly. "Besides, I'm in charge of the class and I say you're good enough."

She gave him a sugary sweet smile. "I'll think about it."

"I'll... I'll send the information up to your office."

"Thanks, Stanley."

Carly turned back to the target, putting the headphones back over her ears. She aimed at the paper man. She took a deep breath and fired. Stanley hovered around nervously for a moment, shuffling between his feet, before finally leaving her alone.

She smirked deviously. Stanley might just be of some use to her.

~*~

A shopping trip, just the girls. Andrew was taking Carly out on the town, to some new club she'd never heard of, and she didn't have a thing to wear. So Sarah had suggested taking off a little early for a trip to the mall just outside the safe zone. Store after store Sarah had dragged her, looking for the perfect dress. Okay, maybe not the perfect dress, but Sarah had pushed her into buying several excellent candidates. Between the dresses, accessories, and shoes, it was becoming an expensive day all around.

"God, I can't believe how much money I spent," she told her friend, holding up one of the many shopping bags she carried.

"You deserve it!" the Brit assured her confidently. "When was the last time you splurged on yourself?"

"It's been awhile," she admitted. 

"A little shopping spree never hurt..." The ringing of Sarah's cell phone interrupted her. 

Carly tried not listen as the young woman spoke on the phone. It was obviously about work, most likely another bombing somewhere, which meant she probably wouldn't hear from Andrew that night either.

Sarah put away the phone, frowning. "I have to go back in."

"I figured as much. I'd say we've done enough damage for one day."

"No, you stay and go to the boutique across from the food court. I saw the cutest dress there not long ago that would look like a million bucks on you. And you still have to hit the funky shoe store."

"Sarah, I don't think I need any more shoes," Carly laughed.

"A woman can never have enough shoes. Besides, it never hurts to look! You never know what you might find!"

Carly rolled her eyes with an amused sigh. "Fine, I'll go look."

Sarah flashed her an excited grin. "I want to know exactly what you bought! See ya tomorrow!" she said, waving as she rushed towards the exit.  
  
Carly shook her head at her friend, smiling. She swore sometimes Sarah was more excited about her dates than she was herself. As if she were living vicariously through Carly, although Sarah had her own boyfriend, some hotshot US Attorney who worked nearly as much as she did. Carly turned to head to the food court, to check out the store Sarah suggested. She spotted a man out of the corner of her eye, her smile fading. Wide-eyed wild look, greased back hair, designer suit... At first she didn't recognize him, he was just another face blending into the crowd. 

But it wasn't just any face in the crowd. It was Sonny Corinthos.

She looked away, unsure and frightened. It couldn't be, not here, not this time. he couldn't have found her again. She looked back again and he was gone. She focused on every person she could see in every direction, but no sign of Sonny. No one that even looked remotely like Sonny. She sighed in relief, sure she was seeing things. He had been on her mind and now her mind was playing tricks on her. She was stressing herself out over nothing.

Carly shook the image from her head. She was just seeing things.

~*~

Carly stood in front of the mirror, examining herself in one of the dresses she'd picked out. She wasn't sure which dress Sarah had been talking about, although she found several possible suspects. Red, black, pink, dark green, navy blue... So many colors to choose from, she just couldn't decide which on she liked the best. And she wasn't not walking out of this store with more than one dress. She'd spent enough money today on clothes to last her the rest of the year.

The 3-way mirror was about halfway through the small store, but it had a clear view of the window. She turned, looking at the dress from different angles. She turned again, this time facing the window. A movement by the window caught her eye. She looked up to see Sonny staring at her through the glass, same shocked, wild look on his face as before. 

She looked back in the mirror. The strong, confident woman she'd know since settling in Washington was gone, replaced with the frightened woman she had been for so long. She glanced back at the window. Sonny was gone.

She didn't know what was going on. One second he was there, then next he was gone. It had happened twice now. She could no longer ignore her fears. They had risen to the surface. 

She clumsily backed into the dressing room and quickly slipped into her own clothes, not bothering to even put the dress she had been wearing back on a hanger. She stepped out of the dressing room and gasped. Sonny was inside the store this time, standing on the other side of some clothes racks just feet away from her. 

"Carly," he said, his hushed mumble sending tremors through her soul. He just stood there, staring at her as if he had seen a ghost.

Carly rushed out of the boutique, but she turned and looked back as she left. Sonny had disappeared again. Her eyes searched the store frantically. She found no visible sign of her ex-husband. "Oh god," she groaned, fighting back the urge to cry. 

The panic rose in her. What if she wasn't seeing things? To hell with shoes, she had to get out of there. Get home where she was supposed to be safe.


	14. Chapter 14

Carly slammed the door shut behind her, making sure every lock was secured and the alarm system was armed. She ran through the house, her gun drawn, checking every room for any sign anyone had gotten inside, making sure every window was secure. 

She breathed a sigh of only mild relief when she found that her house was exactly as she left it.

She was also relieved that Michael was someplace Sonny wouldn't know to look for him. The boy was thankfully spending the night with a classmate. One parent was WSB, the other was with the FBI, both highly trained. She was sure he'd be okay there, be safe, but it never hurt to check.

She grabbed her cell phone and searched through her purse, trying to find the classmate's number as she vainly attempted to hold her panic in check. It was on a little scrap of paper and it seemed like there were a thousand scraps at the moment.

The phone didn't ring fast enough for her. Fear was telling her something was wrong, she tried not to listen to that.

"Hello?"

Finally, she thought to herself as she heard the voice of the boy's mother, an FBI agent. "This is Caroline Benson," she said, attempting to fake calm. "I'm just checking to see if Michael is okay."

"He's fine. The boys are doing some research on the internet for their history reports."

"Can you just keep an eye out tonight for anyone strange hanging around?"

"Michael will be fine, Caroline," she assured Carly. "Don't worry."

Carly was sure she sounded like some overprotective, smothering schizoid, but she didn't care. "I... I know," she replied shakily. "I just worry about him, you know."

The woman chuckled a bit, probably a nervous reaction to Carly's panic. "We'll take good care of him, I promise."

"Thank you."

Carly closed the phone. She was panicking over nothing, she was sure. There was no way Sonny could get to her, she reminded herself. This area was set up to protect agents from people much more dangerous and cunning than Sonny Corinthos, she was safe. But she didn't feel so safe when all she could see was the shocked expression on her ex-husband's face that had followed her all over the mall.

She rushed up to her bedroom and curled up in the space between her nightstand and the wall. Tears fell down her cheeks, Carly giving in to the emotions raging inside her. This was supposed to be her new start, away from all the fear. This wasn't supposed to happen again.

Andrew. She could call Andrew. He'd come over to comfort her. Reassure her that she was safe. She'd dropped the phone as she rushed through the room. It was resting a few feet at away, on the floor near the end of her bed. She crawled to it, then hurriedly crawled back to her spot with the phone, dialing his number.

He picked up on the first ring. "What?" he barked.

"Andrew?" she said, still crying.

"What is it? I'm kinda busy right now."

He was curt with her, a tone she'd recognized. Sonny had used it many times when she interrupted his 'business'. It jarred her. Andrew had never spoken to her like that. To this point, he'd been nothing but sweet and gentle with her. Even the day she'd told him she had been assigned to him, he had been a little standoffish, but nothing like this. He had never sounded even remotely like Sonny. Until now. 

Her tears began to quickly dry up. "I need you."

"Caroline," he exhaled sharply, annoyance projecting through the phone. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time right now."

"Andrew, please! I have to see you! Please come over!" she pleaded.

"I can't right now."

"Something happened, I _need_ to talk to you about it. _Please_, I need to see you."

"I can't just leave. I have a job to do."

"Andrew, please," she pleaded one last time, tears escaping from her eyes again.  
  
"I'll see what I can do, but it won't be until late. That's the best I can do."

She just hung up the phone. So much for Andrew being different. He wasn't going to support her anymore than Sonny was. To hell with him.

Carly was on her own, as she always had been. But Andrew was the least of her problems at the moment. She had to put her fears to rest. She had to know where Sonny was.

~*~

Carly threw papers everywhere. She searched frantically for Mac Scorpio's number. She needed to know where Sonny was. She was terrified that she wasn't just seeing things. She finally found the numbers he'd sent to her with the files. She was too afraid to call the police station, so she dialed the number to the home he shared with Felicia since their reconciliation, her hands still shaking.

To her dismay, it was Felicia who answered the phone. "Hello?"

After Jason and Sonny had had to bail the woman out of her problems with Roy, in the process leaving Carly and Michael open to an attack by a rival organization, Carly had no desire to speak to her. "Mac Scorpio, please."

"Carly?" the older woman asked in disbelief.

"No, my name is not Carly," she lied. She tried to sound as together as possible, given the circumstances. "I work for the WSB. I need to speak to Commissioner Scorpio, please."

"Oh, okay."

Carly couldn't tell if the woman bought her story or not. She heard some rustling through the phone. She sighed, trying to keep her panic in check, easier now she felt like she was doing something and not sitting in the dark crying about it. 

Finally, she heard the Australian's voice as he took the phone. "This is Scorpio."

"I need to know where Sonny is," she ordered, rushing the words. "I need to know if he's in Port Charles."

"Hold on, tell me what happened," he replied calmly.

"I saw him today!" she shrieked, losing her cool. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. "I don't know if it was actually him, that's why I'm calling you. I need to know if he was there today."

"It'll take me some time to find out."

"I'll call back in a half an hour."

She hung up, not giving him a chance to argue. She curled up and waited, counting the minutes until she could call back.

~*~

Carly called back thirty minutes later, right on the dot. She was relieved to hear Mac answer this time, not Felicia. 

"Scorpio."

"You find out anything?"

"Yes." Mac sighed. "The suspect hasn't left the city."

By the official tone of his voice, Carly assumed Felicia was still within earshot. She smiled sadly. He was trying to protect her. The thought of Mac Scorpio helping her still floored her. "Sonny was in Port Charles all day?" she asked, just trying to make sure she'd heard him correctly.

"Yes."

"You verified it with the feds?"

"I did."

She closed her eyes, feeling the hot tears flowing down her cheeks. "No chance he made a little trip here this afternoon?" she asked in vain.

"No. I'm sorry, but it wasn't him."

She felt relief and fear, all at the same time. "Okay. Thanks for checking, Mac."

"I fax the reports to your office in the morning, if you want."

"I appreciate that. Thank you."

"Your welcome. Sorry I couldn't be of more help."

Carly hung up, feeling all emotion drain out of her. It wasn't Sonny, just her fears getting the best of her. She dropped her head, squeezing her watery eyes shut. 

She couldn't take much more of this.

~*~

It was late when Carly heard the knock on her door. She almost didn't answer it. She remembered Andrew said he'd try to get away, but she wasn't sure she wanted to see him. Not after he chose work when she really needed him.

A knock resonated through the empty house a second time. She couldn't just ignore him, she admitted to herself. Better to confront him now, rather than let this simmer between them, like she had most of her problems with Sonny. 

She opened the door and walked back into the living room, silent. Andrew came inside, shutting the door behind him. He did not look happy.

"I can't stay long," he said softly, not a trace of friendliness in his voice.

"Good," she replied coldly, crossing her arms as she turned to face him. "Because I have nothing to say to you."

Confusion and anger mixed in his expression. "What the hell! You called me over here, Caroline." 

"I needed you tonight, Andrew. I needed you and you weren't here. End of story."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't have a choice. We had a mission blown all to hell and I've been busy trying to fix things halfway across the world from the goddamn problem, trying to make arrangements to get every agent back home in one piece."

Just like with Sonny, it was always something. She shook her head. "Your business comes first, just like it did with my ex-husband."

"That's part of my job!" 

"It's just a job, Andrew!"

"My whole life is my job!" he shot back. "You haven't figured it out by now? It's a 24/7 job. Terrorists don't have business hours and they don't take vacations. The world doesn't stop turning at five o'clock so I can go home at night. If that was the way it worked, I'd still be married."

"You think I haven't heard that before? The mob is no different."

"I am not your ex-husband," he growled.

"What do you know about the mob?" she asked, not interested in an answer. "Since when did you become an expert on my life? You don't know what I've been through. You hardly know me."

"There's a reason for that, sweetheart. You won't let me in."

"What?"

"You don't trust me. You're afraid."

"Oh yeah, smart guy? What do I have to be afraid of?"

"Me. That I might get too close, that I might hurt you like that ass you were married to."

That was the most ridiculous thing Carly had ever heard. "That is the biggest bunch of bullshit..."

Andrew closed the space between them. "Oh, I know a lot more than you think I do. One of my best friends was abused by her husband. I know the signs of a battered wife when I see 'em."

Whatever. She wasn't interested in his opinion. "To hell with you. I don't need you. And now I don't want you."

He opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind. "Fine," he said coldly. He walked to the door, grabbing the door handle. He turned around and stomped back into living room. "Look, Caroline. I understand your ex-husband was an ass of the lowest order. He abused you and beat you down at every opportunity. But don't take that out on me. I'm not him. Got it?"

Carly's voice was icy. "Go to hell." She headed for the stairs, avoiding looking at him.

"So that's it?"

She stopped at the foot of the stairs. She turned her head, taking one last glance at Andrew. "Please lock the door behind you when you leave."


	15. Chapter 15

Author's note: Yes, this is still going! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Might be awhile before the next chapter as well, but hopefully not quite as long. ;) Should start moving faster in the next few chapters, storywise (not posting unfortunately). I'm estimating the big revelation will come in about 4 chapters and with about 12/13 chapters to go total. :) Rach, Teri, Jaclyn, Icey, and fairieangel- Thanks!

* * *

Carly had learned a yet another of life's lessons the hard way. Dating your boss was _not_ a good idea. Especially when the job was your only option left.

Andrew had hardly said two words to her when she got into the office. Then he had, of course, scuttled off to another meeting. Good riddance. She didn't want to deal with him anyway.

On the positive side, he looked like hell, as if he hadn't slept in two days. He was wearing the same rumpled clothes as he had the day before and he hadn't shaved. She found a little satisfaction in that.

Especially after he handed her a stack of budgets to do.

She absolutely hated doing the budgets. End of the month pain in the butt that fell on her shoulders to make sure everything was right. Easy enough, at least it should be. In her short time at the WSB, she found that field agents were the worst. Reports turned in late, incomplete and usually full of errors anyone with a high school education would catch. Unfortunately, Andrew's department included a large number of field agents and he never bothered to insist on accuracy or timeliness amongst his agents. Mainly because he was just as bad.

That left Carly to fix all the errors and curse his name for the rest of the day.

In the middle of typing, a flashing red message box popped up on her computer screen. The WSB had this nice little messaging system. A color-coded box pops up with instructions, on top of everything else that may be running. Code Red was the most urgent of the alerts. The message system basically took over the affected computer until the message was canceled by whoever had issued it.

Carly hadn't been around long enough to know what to do. Although Andrew had received these alerts before, she hadn't.

The phone rang, just as she reached to pick it up. "Yes?"

Andrew's voice came across the line, cold and hard. "I need the files for West Africa from my office. Operations cabinet, top drawer. Get the current op phone list, as well. I'm in the operations center conference room."

The line went dead and she put the phone back. She quickly put away her budget files and headed into Andrew's office to get the files.

* * *

The WSB operations center was nothing short of chaotic when Carly arrived. DC was the largest of the five centers spread throughout the world. A bank of televisions with one large projection TV in the middle covered one wall, groups of small cubicles were spread all over the room. At the back was the glass wall separating the conference room from the rest of the operation. 

An armed guard sat next to the door, standing when Carly approached. "I need to see your identification," he said sternly.

ID, yeah. Her arms were full of files and her ID was attached to her blouse. She should've expected to show it.

The doors slid open and Faith appeared, smiling. "Let me take those," she said, reaching for the files.

"Thanks," Carly replied, gladly handing the pile over. She flashed her ID at the guard. He glanced at the computer screen in front of him, then nodded. She followed Faith into the conference room.

The room was fairly large, with a mirrored window on one end and a large computer projection screen on the other. She assumed that like most of the conference rooms around headquarters, the mirror was to the room with recording devices. On the computer screen were maps of West Africa and positions, of what she wasn't sure.

Agents were engaged in conversation at several computer terminals around the large conference table. Sarah had taken the stack of files and was beginning to hurriedly search through them. Andrew stood along the back wall, rubbing his temples as he listened to Mike talk to an African-American woman in an expensive tailored suit. She recognized the woman immediately as the director of the WSB, Denise Markham.

"You haven't been through one of these before have you?" Faith whispered.

Carly just shook her head. "What's going on?"

"Mission blew up big time yesterday," the blonde replied with a sigh. "First rule of thumb, do what they ask, no matter how stupid it seems. Just don't argue."

She'd forgotten that Andrew had said something like that the night before. "Okay."

"We're basically gophers. We get whatever they need, whether it be a phone number, a file, coffee, wipe their asses..."

"What about my phone, my work? I'm up to my neck in budget reports."

"Mrs. Milner has sent someone to cover the phones. Of course, your work will still be waiting for you when you get back."

"Wonderful."

Carly could hear some of what was being said. Andrew was updating Mike and Director Markham on the mission. A team was stuck at an airfield. Rebels were getting closer and they had a plane full of weapons of mass destruction. An engine had been damaged by the fighting; they could fix it well enough to take off, but they couldn't get far safely. The choice was between having the team fight while waiting for an extraction team to show up, which could take up to a day, or they could take off and get the plane as far off land as possible, guaranteeing death for the entire team. They were in contact with the US Navy in an attempt to get an aircraft carrier close enough for the plane to land, but it wasn't looking good.

"Call SecNav again, Faith," Andrew ordered.

The blonde did as he requested. "I've got the number burned into my brain now, I've called it so many times today," she told Carly in a low voice. "I'm almost on a first name basis with Admiral Cartwright."

Carly sighed halfheartedly and took a seat near the wall.

"So you must be Caroline Benson," the director said, approaching her. Denise Markham was a tall woman with shoulder length curly hair, and although she was a little on the large side, Carly doubted she had an ounce of fat on her. She had a commanding presence, there was no doubt she was in charge. She was relatively new in the job, only promoted to director the previous year. Many in the WSB were happy with her; she had been a field agent for many years herself and wasn't the bureaucrat her predecessor was. Her exploits had her name spoken in the same awed breath as Robert Scorpio around headquarters.

"It's nice to meet you Director Markham," Carly replied, standing and smiling politely. She hadn't had an opportunity to meet the director before. She was the one who had approved Carly's employment and had offered her a safe place to live. "I appreciate the chance you gave me."

"No problem. I'm happy you've been able to settle into a position here. I've heard nothing but good things since you started with Jones."

She briefly wondered if the woman would think the same thing if she knew about their relationship, not that it really mattered now it was over. "Thank you."

"I'm _very_ happy someone managed to tame the beast," she said, glancing towards Andrew. "I think poor Faith had resigned herself to nagging him about every piece of paperwork for eternity."

Carly chuckled as the director walked back across the room and sat at the conference table near Mike. For a moment, her eyes met Andrew's. His stone cold expression didn't change, but for that moment, the look in his eyes softened and hers responded likewise.

She looked away. She didn't want to see that. She didn't want to feel anything for him right now. She was still mad.

* * *

Carly studied the map. The team was in Mali, close to the Algerian border. She vaguely remembered processing the paperwork on this operation. The mission had involved getting stolen nuclear weapons away from an arms dealer that was negotiating to sell them to a nearby rebel group. The mission had gone badly, but would ultimately be considered a success, despite the current situation; the weapons had been recovered. 

It was fairly quiet at the moment. She and Faith had been rushing around most of the day, getting whatever the agents in the room needed and making numerous phone calls to various military offices. She finally had a chance to sit and take a break.

Most of the agents had stopped working as well. They had done everything they could do; it was now a waiting game.

"Yeah, I understand. I'll let 'em know." Faith put down the phone. "Carriers are still too far out. ETA won't be in time."

Andrew closed his eyes and Mike ran her hands through her hair. Getting a carrier in range was their best option. The fighting was too heavy to get a team to the airfield; the rebels had already shot down two rescue planes.

"Well, Jones, this is your op," Director Markham said. "What is your opinion?"

All eyes were on Andrew. He paused thoughtfully, considering his answer. "Fly," he said decidedly. "At least the weapons won't be usable at the bottom of the Atlantic."

Carly looked at Faith, uncertain. Surely Andrew hadn't just ordered the deaths of several agents. There _had_ to be another option.

She looked closer at the map. The area they were talking about, some of the names sounded familiar to her, and it wasn't because she was good at geography. "Hold on a moment, I've got an idea!" she said, practically jumping out of her chair.

She rushed back to her office, running as fast as she could. She grabbed the files Mac had sent her and ran back to the operations center. She was right, Sonny had a few holdings in West Africa. He was involved in smuggling of conflict diamonds out of that area and had a deserted makeshift airstrip in Cape Verde, not far from Mali.

"Can they get to São Vicente, Cape Verde?" she asked, dropping the files down on the table.

Andrew looked at her, confused. "Why?"

"My ex-husband has a private airstrip on São Vicente."

Sarah punched in a few keys and the map zoomed in on Cape Verde. "There are no airstrips on São Vicente."

Faith looked over Carly's shoulder at the file. "Hey, I know that airstrip. Joe flew down there a couple times. It's an old hotel driveway or somethin'. Just a long strip of concrete." The blonde went over to Sarah's computer and typed in the coordinates. Another screen appeared on the projector, this time a satellite photo of the area.

Andrew studied the photo, Mike next to him. "It'd be tight for a cargo plane," she said, glancing at her subordinate.

"They can crash land." He turned to look at Carly. "How well guarded is it?"

Carly skimmed through the few pages on Sonny's smuggling. "Not very. He only uses it a few times a year, not enough to attract attention to its existence. Constant guards aren't needed."

He picked up the headset and Mike reached for the phone. "Take off," he told the team as his boss arranged for another plane. "Head towards Cape Verde. We'll give you the coordinates en route."

Director Markham smiled. "Good work, Caroline."

Carly couldn't help but smile. It felt good to actually do something right for a change.

* * *

"I can't believe you remembered that!" Faith said as they walked down the hallway, back to their respective offices, their arms full of files. "I can't believe I didn't!" 

The team had reached the airstrip with only minimal injuries and was extracted without incident. The weapons were now safely in the hands of the Navy. The blonde had been singing Carly's praises since they'd left the operations center.

Carly shrugged. "I've read over Sonny's FBI file a few times."

"A few times? I bet you've got that thing memorized to find that little detail!"

"Maybe."

"Maybe, my butt!" Faith shook her head. "Joe even told me he'd take me on one of those runs once! Romantic getaway!"

Carly snickered. "You found smuggling romantic?"

"No, he talked about how beautiful that island was..." Faith trailed off, sadness on her face.

Carly shifted her files to one arm and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey, you wanna go for a drink or something after work?"

Faith nodded towards Carly's desk. Andrew had somehow beat them back to the office and was looking at something on her desk. "I think he probably has other ideas."

Carly glared at him. "That's his problem," she said coldly.

"Trouble in paradise, darlin'?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"First round's on me. I want details. _All_ of them."

The two women crossed the short distance to the desk and set the files down in the chair. Andrew gave them a half-smile, remaining silent.

"I'm going to be gettin' back to my office now," Faith said uncertainly. "Call me when you're ready to go, Caroline."

Carly never took her eyes off Andrew. "Sure."

"That was quick thinking in there today," Andrew said as Faith walked out of earshot. "You did good."

"I know."

He looked down at a piece of paper on her desk. It was a message for her left by the substitute secretary. Mac had called about the latest additions to Sonny's file, presumably in the folder marked confidential underneath the note. She grabbed the note, crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. She grabbed the operational files off the chair, taking them back to his office.

He followed her. "So why is Mac Scorpio calling you?"

She snuck a glance at him. His face was stone. "What's it to you?"

"Just wondering what a police commissioner would want with a secretary."

She wanted to deck him. How _dare_ he judge who she speaks to! "He was passing on information," she told him as put the files back in the cabinet, leaving out the details.

"That's all? Just information?"

She glared at him, slamming the file drawer shut. "Why are you interrogating me on this?" she snapped.

Andrew plopped tiredly down in his chair. "I was just curious, Caroline," he said, defeated.

"Well, don't be."

Carly stormed out of his office. She grabbed her purse and the files on Sonny. She headed for Faith's office, pulling out her phone and dialing Sarah's number. She definitely was in the mood to vent now.

* * *

Carly couldn't sleep. It was the middle of the night and the house felt practically empty with Michael sound asleep in bed. She found herself wandering around the quiet house and thinking. About Sonny, about Andrew, about herself. She went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She pulled her robe tighter around herself, a combination of the chilliness of the dark room and her general unhappiness getting to her. 

She spotted the sealed file on the counter. It was the FBI surveillance reports from the last few days, verifying Sonny's presence in Port Charles. Even better yet, his presence at the penthouse was punctuated by a nice, _long_ visit from Faith Rosco.

To hell with both of them, she was going back to bed.

She slowly walked down the hallway to the stairs. As she passed the front door, she heard something moving outside.

Her heart jumped in her throat. She stepped to the door as quietly as possible. She looked through the peephole, unprepared for what she saw.

Andrew was pacing on the front walk, as if he were debating to see her or not.

She disabled the alarm and opened the door, unsurely. "Andrew?" she said softly.

He stopped and looked guiltily at her. His hands were in his pockets. "Hi," he replied timidly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I missed you."

"How nice for you," she replied with all the obviously false sincerity she could muster.

He ran a hand through his short hair nervously and took a deep breath. "Look, what I said last night..."

She didn't need to hear it, she knew what he was going to say. "You didn't mean it."

"Well, sort of. I didn't mean it in the way it came out. I was stressed out and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm sorry."

She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. She remained silent.

"I love you, Caroline. My day's brighter every time I walk into the office and see your beautiful smile. For the first time in years, I see a future outside of my career. A future with you and Michael."

She still said nothing.

"I'm sorry I ever opened my mouth. I'm sorry I wasn't here when you needed me. I'm sorry I hurt you."

The faintest hint of a smile appeared on her lips.

"I love you."

She sighed, unable to stop the full smile.

He looked hopefully at her. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"I'll see you in the morning, Andrew." She turned around and closed the door behind her.

That was something Sonny had never done. He had never paced outside her door in the middle of the night or apologized for anything he'd said. He certainly never looked like he'd been eaten up with guilt either.

As mad as she was, she couldn't help but forgive him. Things wouldn't, couldn't, just go back to the way they were before, but she knew they could work through this.

Through the door she could hear him singing. "Ohhh, sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good..."

Carly grinned. Andrew was definitely a keeper.


End file.
